Word of the year

2 years ago, I came up with the concept of having a word of the year. A word that would (hopefully) guide my thoughts and actions in the coming year. My first word, for 2015, was simplify.

I had recently begun appreciating how liberating it was to get "stuff" out of my house, and wanted to continue that process with not only my physical belongings, but perhaps more importantly my time commitments and my mental clutter. We had, for several years, been wanting to sell our house and move into a different one, and I knew that I would need to do a lot of decluttering in my home in order to have it ready to sell. And, indeed, toward the end of 2015 we listed our house for sale; an event which actually inspired my 2016 word of the year: change.

We bought a lovely fixer-upper house across town at the end of 2015, so I knew a move would be happening. We had to do a LOT of major remodeling to the new house. Husband's job security was not looking good and I *hoped* a change would be happening in his employment situation. Our eldest was about to turn 16 and get his drivers license, Change was in the air!

Little did I know that our change was going to be so much bigger than I could have imagined, with my husband getting a job promotion/transfer that would require our family to relocate from North Carolina to Louisiana. Change encompassed him moving in March while I stayed in NC to wrap up the boys and I's school years, finish working on house #2 (house #1 thankfully sold in March) and prepare house #2 for sale all while packing for a cross-country move, and trying to find schools and a house in a state I had never even set foot in, from 1000 miles away.

Change came in the form of moving to a place where literally the only person I knew was the realtor who helped us buy our house. It came in learning to live with my husband again after 4 months of being a single parent. It came in understanding different cultural expectations and seeking places where I belonged.

It was during one of my many NC-LA drives (I think I've made the 14+ hour trip more than a dozen times. Matt has made it zero times, but that's a post for an angrier day) that I began thinking about what my word would be for 2017. I tossed around a lot of options. Kindness was one; it's been a rough year, politically and interpersonally. The world could use more kindness; heck- my family could use more kindness!

Kindness is a good and important word, but ultimately I chose another word that is an adjective/verb combination. I'm kinda digging words with relevant meanings in different parts of speech. Hence the title of this blog.

I spent a lot of time deliberating the word deliberate (see what I did there?), primarily in its adjective form, and have chosen it as my word of the year.

Deliberate: (adj) done consciously and intentionally. (v) to engage in long and careful consideration

I want the things I do to be deliberate. I want my time to be spent in meaningful ways, and my words to be thoughtful. I love that deliberate is an adjective that deliciously merges back into 2015's word, simplify. I want to be deliberate about what comes into my house, both in terms of physical items (I'm thinking healthy foods, quality furniture; clothing and supplies that are an investment and not a passing whim or "because it was on clearance") and the words and images that enter our minds and hearts through the people, music, television/movies/internet/games, and books that we invite into our home.

I want to intentionally finish the myriad of crafty works-in-progress in my not-yet-organized den. I desire for my money and my time to be spent well, in places that matter. I yearn for a weekly meal plan that has us using ingredients we already have on hand. Join me as I attempt to live life deliberately in 2017!