Theme of the Year

A year ago a good friend of mine posted this about choosing a one-word theme for her upcoming year; a word that would define her actions and focus her energy. It seemed like an attractive enough idea. I scratched my head but nothing came to mind that stuck as a defining word for my own year (although happily she found one that stuck and did wonders for her).

I did some traditional journal-writing last night, which I'm pretty awful about doing consistently (and thus this blog!). It worked its magic as a notoriously therapeutic practice and I'm suddenly feeling a lot better about my life and the future.

And a year after Lindsay's post I came up with the perfect word to be my theme this year. Ready?

Celebrate.

That's it. This is my word. As I've mentioned in other posts, this is something I'm not so good at. Working hard? Check. Muddling through? Check. Celebrating? No. Not at all. So in the coming weeks, months maybe, I'll be thinking a lot about what this word theme is going to mean. Parties, confetti, and pin the tail on the donkey? Hardly. I want to get at the root of what this word is going to mean for me and the decisions I make this year.

Here's something I already know: "celebrate" elicits some mixed feelings! On one hand it represents exhilarating newness (as in "never done that before!"). On the other hand, it represents homey, comfy tradition. So how do these two ideas become reconciled into a word as simple as "celebrate"? Give me time, I'll figure it out. Above all else, I've realized that "celebrate" is going to be an essential part of my developing relationship with my daughter this year and this is so very, very important to me. I want to be better at celebrating her and celebrating us.

So stay tuned for more updates on my game plan on celebrating.

In the spirit of traditional New Year's housekeeping, here's a list of my less lofty goals for this year:

• graduate.



• get into grad school.



• get an A in stats. oh, and pass my other classes too.



• *



• garden.



• canning.



• do a single sewing project. I like to dream big, but if I commit to more than one I may be too intimidated to do even one.



• progress in violin. have I mentioned I've picked it up again?



• shop more at farmer's markets and pick-your-owns.



• make cheese and yogurt. from scratch.



• change my name officially to Bracken-Hull.



• be more honest about who I am. this might mean some scary admissions concerning mormon feminism. be ye warned.
  

*this is a secret goal I'm not ready to share right now. More news in the coming months. And no, I am not pregnant and have no plans to be so this year. I don't want to raise any false hopes!