So each year I watch as the rest of the world (it seems) picks their one little word. Usually I set goals, that cover my work life, my personal life and my being. (See my 2015 goals here, and my 2014 goals here) This year though, I really wanted to jump on the bandwagon. I mean who doesn’t want to be one of the cool kids?! Except I couldn’t. I just couldn’t think of one single word that would sum up all that I was feeling going into 2016. Initially I thought I would go with “simplify,” because that’s the heart of what I am trying to do with my blog. I want to simplify the number of posts I am doing to offer a higher quality rather than quantity. However, I don’t want to simplify my relationships. In fact I want to grow them. And well growing is kind of the opposite of simplifying. So that didn’t work.
After hemming and hawing for a few weeks I decided that it was really much more me to go with a few words, something for each aspect of my life. So I did. That’s the beauty of a new year and a fresh start, you can do whatever you want. So I present to you, my 2016 words/goals.
REKINDLE
I want to rekindle the romance with my husband. As we have gotten older, and our family has grown it’s become easier to let our relationship take a backseat to all the other commitements we have. We both work full time jobs. And we both commute an hour each way to those jobs. So when we are finally home we want to spend as much time as we can with our kids to make up for them being in care all day, every day. By the time they are in bed, we are exhausted. I also blog. Maybe you noticed. 😉 So there are a lot of weekends and evenings where I will stay up late or lock myself away so I can work on creating content and sharing amazingness with you all.
As a remedy to this, my husband and I have decided to go on a date every other weekend. It seemed like a lot, but really it is 26 dates in a year. And that seems doable. We put the call out for a reliable babysitter, someone who can commit to watching our kids twice a month so we can go to dinner and a movie, or go see a show, or go on a hike, or really, whatever. I am excited just typing it!!!
REDISCOVER
Sometimes it seems like we are all just rushing to create the next hot thing. The next viral post. I’ve been slowly purging all the supplies that I’ve been hoarding for these kinds of crafts. I am no longer going to be doing projects that don’t fit my lifestyle or make me happy. If it is trendy and popular, wahoo, but if not, at least it makes me happy. I am tired of piles of “blog projects” that I am not sure what to do with after their done. So, look forward to seeing fewer posts, but posts that I truly love. Recipes I crave, crafts I display proudly and diy projects that make my house a home. Because that’s what this is really about.
RELAX
I mean this one is kind of self-explanatory, but I’ll elaborate. So often I feel like I am rushing to do the next thing. To check something off my list. To finish the task, only to move on to the next. There are very often things that I missing by living this way. And I want to stop. I want to spend time snuggling and giggling instead of worrying about the dishes in the kitchen, or the laundry piling up. The house will wait, and my kids are going to remember if I was always too busy to play. But besides all that. I want to take time to just be. Without worrying about what still needs to be done, about what other people are doing. Just breathe in and out and enjoy each and every day. Ugh, I sound all sappy, but I promise, I’m not.
,
RECLAIM
When I was a stay at home mom I carried my youngest in a back pack ALL THE TIME. I cooked healthy meals from scratch most nights. I worked out a couple days a week. And I was fit and healthy. Then I went back to work. I am confined to a classroom all day, and although I walk a lot, it just isn’t the same. My husband has also started doing the dinner cooking and love him as I may, it usually comes from a box or the freezer. It’s just reality. Also, because my kids are in school and childcare all day I feel guilty putting them in care so I can work out after work. So after a long and heartfelt discussion with my dear sweet hubby, we decided that he will pick up the kids three days a week so I can go workout. Not only is it good for my body, but it’s also good for my soul.
How about you? Do you set goals? Are you able to narrow down to one little word? How do you keep track? I would love to hear what works for you in the comments!
