One little word 2017

For the past many years I've chosen a word to focus on for the upcoming year. I've never really liked the idea of resolutions but a word to apply to my daily life is something that really connected with me. I first read about it via Ali Edwards and each year I've chosen a word that really spoke to me.

Last year my word was "UP" which seemed like such a good choice for such an important year and the fact that things were changing with my first born graduating high school. Around July/August the word "UP" just seemed to grate on my nerves like a rock in my shoe. It didn't fit anymore. It felt like there was so much pressure with it. Like I had to constantly be lifting people up or being "up" all the time. And to be honest, there was lots of things that happened that didn't equate to the word up. So I let it go.

This year I really thought that I had found my word back in November, the word "enough" kept coming to me...like enough already. I had enough of the body issues, I had enough of the extended family issues, I had had enough.

But as January came closer and I really started to think on that word it didn't seem to fit much at all. It was sounding to me like it was too soft, enough. I wanted a word that was more action orientated and had a more positive ring to it.

As I was on the treadmill one day the word "rise" came to me. Mulling it around in my brain it just seems to fit with was I was hoping for this year. The rising above it all, the negativity and the pressure. The simple act of rising above the expectations of others really hit home with me. 

 I have big plans for this summer and am making some major changes in my life and while I'm anxious to get to that point, I know that the wait is a really good thing. These months of waiting will allow me time to mentally and physically prepare for this summer. So as I wait...I will rise. 

The ebb and flow

For those that know me know that I love scrapbooking. The process of adding stories to my photos and adding bits of papers and embellishments to my pages brings me great joy. I've been doing this since my oldest was a year old and there have been times in my life that I've gone on creative benders, if you will, and cranked out page after page for different albums that I had in my bookshelf. Then there have been times where I think to myself, "does this even matter?" 

Part of this is putting too much pressure on myself. Always expecting a profound story for every photo. The thought that I need to have tons of journalling or brand new designs for every layout. This is totally me. I look back at my old layouts and I love how they look. I love how I felt when I was creating them. I loved the finished project. I found supplies I loved and had to have. It feels like lately that I need to be critiquing everything I buy. Did I get my money's worth? Am I supporting an empire or a small business, should I care? Shame on me if I don't care. So much of this comes from too much exposure to negativity. I really try to be someone who looks for the good in everything but its been hard to find of late...even on my scrapbooking message boards. This has turned into me now not scrapbooking very much...I've been reading and really not very into it. Other things have come up that I've chosen to do instead of scrapbooking like I used to. I run. I spend way too much time on social media. I try and spend more time with my husband. 

I'm totally thinking that this is just one of those ebb and flow things and I will get back to it when the time is right. Personally I'm thinking that the less time I'm around the negative influences the better off I'll be. And maybe, just maybe I'll feel like being creative again. 

Life lately

So much change around here, so much has stayed the same. 2 kids still in school, one kid out of school and moved on to the next phase of post secondary education.

 Lots of new ground with that situation. So love that Ethan has embraced the ebb and flow of college, so glad that he took his first year locally so that we could be there to help be a sounding board for him but still let him do things on his own. I so appreciate that he can still see the shoreline if he needs it. He has done incredibly well with his first semester and is now on the second. I've learned some new parenting things as well...like I can't fix everything. That was so hard but really its a good thing.

This season of my life is involving a lot of commitments between things I have to do and things I chose to do and things I want to do. Really doing some soul searching and deciding on what needs to go and what needs to stay. Planning on taking back some of my life and only including those things that contribute to my over all health and well-being. So much of this fits with my One Little Word for 2017 which is RISE. I love the strength and direction that this word brings for me.

Health, both mental and physical has been a huge priority for me this past year and that will probably be a whole other blog post because its become such a big part of my life. Suffice it to say...its just a part of my daily life now.

Here's hoping that I can carve out some time to update here and there because I think I miss the space to do a little connecting.