At the bottom, you can see my full OneWord365 journey. It's been an adventure. This year brings the 11th time I am focusing on one word, rather than a pile of resolutions, and I am grateful for the growth each word has brought in its own time.
Some have brought habits that have continued (example, the sink tweets that started with RAW in 2017, and are still here), and some have served their purpose well but are no longer in the forefront of my decisions. That's how it works, I think - some things stick and some things move along.
Checking in on 2021, the year of YES, AND. There's enough binary decision making going on in the world, that the perspective of multiple things being true at the same time was much needed.
A few specific things I tackled:
1. "RunTheYear". My friend Leslie decided she needed to get moving with a goal this year. She texted to tell me about it, and I decided some focus would be great. but 2021 miles in a year?? Uhhh. Hard. I said YES it is hard, AND I will try anyway. Signed up at Run The Edge (link in case you want to try with us). Please note, there is not much running happening here. There is a lot of walking! We added my friend Anna, who it turns out had been doing this challenge for several years already. Headed out on Jan 1, got started, and hit the first goal (2021 miles!) in September. Then a friend, who shall remain publicly nameless, challenged me to 3,000 miles by the end of the year. YES that is bananas. AND I went for it anyway. Crossed 3,000 yesterday (good grief that was a lot of miles) and have rounded out this year with 3,006. YES, I signed up for next year. Changed the goals a little; this is a mission I am keeping.
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| 3006 miles total. Photo from a walk in the North Carolina mountains this summer. |
2. Saying farewell to the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award Foundation. I feel so grateful to have been able to volunteer with this organization for the last 7 years, several of which included time on the Board of Directors. YES, I love the people, the work, and the mission. AND with much reflection and prayer, it is time for someone else to step in and continue. I will miss everyone a lot. I still plan to show up for their events. It's still time for others to lead, and I know they will do an amazing job. I look forward to seeing where they take it!
3. Planning for a trip (scheduled for spring 2022). YES covid is still here, making things a challenge, wreaking havoc on plans. AND my bestie and I are targeting a girls' trip, to walk-about the island of Mallorca. Cheers to her husband, my girls' dad & stepmom, and my folks, who will be holding down the fort while we log some miles and time together. Our families were supposed to vacation together in summer 2020. This has turned into the mamas only, next year. YES, Planning and choosing optimism in the face of so much *gesturing* of all this is hard. AND we choose to try anyway.
A few general day to day applications
A. yes I am still tweeting about my sink. and it is still as motivating and accountablity holding for me as it was when I started in 2017
B. yes metro still has rotten service/reliability. and it's still mostly better than me navigating parking downtown.
C. yes, I wanted the Nationals to win more games. And my guy is a Barves fan, so he's enjoying the World Series outcome
D. Yes, memories last forever. And saying goodbye when a beloved friend dies still hurts.
E. Yes, getting up early is hard. (note, when I say early, I mean 4:15). AND doing this so that the miles are shared with friends is worth it. The best conversations, and the best sunrises are some of the rewards.
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| Best sunrise of the year. Ida Lee Park, Leesburg, VA |
F. Yes, it's hard when your team trades away the players you love. And it's ok to welcome the new guys. And to cheer for your traded guys on their new teams. AND not everyone agrees with that last sentence. Which is ok, because this is my word of the year :-)
G. Yes, raising teens is hard. AND it's also wonderful, rewarding, and heart-growing. I love my girls to the moon and back.
YES, 2021 brought a bucket full of challenges, AND still we found some bright spots. Vaccines arrived (hooray), the girls were finally back in school in September (hooray), we did get some time with my family this summer (hooray)! We took a quiet vacation to the mountains of North Carolina and enjoyed hiking, rafting, AND I conquered my fear of heights long enough to do a hot air balloon ride, which WOW what an amazing way to view the world.
And now, with the final sunset of 2021 on the horizon (farewell, so long, I am done), it's time to look ahead to the new year, and a new challenge.
2022 is bringing a lot of change to our world. I have one kiddo about to be a fully licensed driver, and she's starting the college exploration path, and she will be a senior. (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN). My other one will start high school in the fall. And with this last year ahead, I want to make sure I pay attention to what's happening. Both the changes coming and the memories we're making. The big and the small. With the girls; with my family; with my friends. Tackling some new goals (2022 miles targeted in a different way), taking a more deliberate walk through Scripture with some additional focus time there.
I mulled on a lot of words before one made itself very well known. 2022 is the year of EMBRACE. Reaching out and wrapping my arms around my people, memories, experiences, goals, learning, and the future. Both literally (lots of hugs on deck) and figuratively (a focused effort to pray specifically for people, one at a time, and some journaling of the things I see/learn/do/feel. The gratitude journal has arrived).
Cheers to the new year; may yours be filled with grace, love, laughter, and hope. Embrace them every day.
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**My OneWord365 History**
2012 - brave
2013 - grace
2014 - journey
2015 - wait
2016 - pursue
2017 - raw
2018 - listen
2019 - balance
2020 - enough
2021 - YES, AND
2013 - grace
2014 - journey
2015 - wait
2016 - pursue
2017 - raw
2018 - listen
2019 - balance
2020 - enough
2021 - YES, AND
2022 - EMBRACE
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| crossing the "finish line" of 2021 miles. Sept 16, 2021. With walker buddies (and dear friends) Anna and Leslie |
