New Intentions & Word For The Year

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year to you!

Being home with Skyler for a few days enabled me to catch up around here, and I’m so grateful for that extra time to snuggle him and to create a few posts to share with you. When I’m working my normal hours, I usually turn in for the night by 9 or 10 p.m. and at least turn my brain off in bed, if I’m not sleeping already.

I’m currently typing this one up while struggling to keep my eyes open at 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. It’s funny to think that last year I was just getting ready to get out the door in a lacey black dress and heeled over-the-knee boots. I was six months pregnant, but I knew it was my year to take in the crazy before my life shifted into writing blog posts in pajamas on New Year’s Eve. A lot has changed since last year, but I’m certainly not complaining!

It’s easy to say what the best part of 2018 was, and I’m sure that anyone reading this already knows the answer. Skyler entering the world and making us parents will forever be my favorite memory of the year. It’s so amazing to go through each month with him and look back at how much he has learned and changed. (That reminds me, I’m behind on my baby updates!)

There are two things that Scott and I do every year on New Year’s Day, and today I felt like writing a blog post about it.

First, we do an ornament exchange between the two of us. We used to have a rule that the ornaments had to be purchased after Christmas to ensure that they were on sale, but we’ve broken that a few times. It’s been a cool way to honor our date-iversary (we started dating on New Year’s Day in 2008!) and also collect ornaments that we love throughout the years.

Second, we exchange what our word for the new year will be. That word summarizes our intentions for the next year and is something that is supposed to be at the front of our minds.

True story, I don’t think I ever gave Scott my word last year, and I think it stemmed from an issue I’ve struggled with for years now … living in the present. I was stumped on what I wanted to focus on besides becoming a mother. I spent years yearning for the day that would happen, and knowing it was just a few months away took my full attention. Looking back, I was just really unsure of a lot of things. And, admittedly, I still am at times.

(I’m also not one for resolutions, and I’m more about setting long-term goals, as I wrote about last year.)

Ever since our lives changed after we got married (two job layoffs and two cross-country moves … yowza), I constantly catch myself thinking about the past or wondering about the future. This doesn’t mean that I wish I was still living my old life in Orlando, but it does mean that I miss certain things about it, and sometimes I wonder what it would be like if our lives just continued there. It also means that I’m ready for the feeling of a little more security, whether it be in regards to Scott taking a full-time job outside of his consulting business, buying a house, or just feeling settled.

It’s rare when I’m actually enjoying the day for what it is, in our location, without thinking it’s just the stepping stone onto the next adventure that is waiting for us. This is the planner in me freaking out. If I realize I’m thinking that way, I try to snap out of it and enjoy the world around me for what it is — something that’s pretty beautiful.

Scott has always been a highly optimistic person, and he’s always preached that we create our own happiness. He’s totally right, and I think it’s finally time to really snap myself out of the past and future ways of thinking.

This year, I’m ready to get the uncertainties out of my head and continue to grow. We may not have our long-term answers yet, but that just means that God is brewing something extra special for us. At least that’s what happened when it was finally time to meet our baby boy after quite the journey that led us there!

So, I’m setting my word early this year and sticking to it — D R E A M.

To me, the dream means to soak in the day for what it is and stay optimistic. It includes a lot of great things in our future, but it focuses on the little miracles that take place day in and day out right in front of us. It means setting intentions for each day and striving towards new goals that might seem scary … because if we didn’t ever challenge ourselves with something uncomfortable, we wouldn’t take chances, grow, or develop into the people we are really meant to be.

I think all of these thoughts came from my quick run outside earlier today. It had been months since I went for a run outside, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I originally logged on to share a recap of Skyler’s First Christmas (coming this week!), but I felt like sharing more of my heart and intentions in this post instead.

I want to thank you all for listening, and I decided to include pictures of me stretching because I’m still riding that post-workout high. May there be many more of those to come soon!

Here’s to dreaming for all of us this New Year. Wishing you the very best in 2019!

 

[Photo credit: Jason Roth Photography. Brooklyn/NYC friends — he’s awesome and so fun to work with! Feel free to message me for more information.]