It's no secret that 2011 was a rough year for my family. It had started out pretty well, but after losing my dad at the end of March - well, you could say that the year kind of went downhill from there.
Of course, it wasn't all bad: In Janaury my sister Rebecca moved up from Florida so she could attend George Mason University. The house is now overcrowded (especially with the addition of my father's cat Lucy) and messier than ever. We bump into each other in the kitchen and have to be quick if we want the bathroom first in the morning. But those are happy annoyances, and we all seem to revell in having each other to complain about.
Still, we heaved a collective sigh of relief as Father Time closed the curtain on The Year of Our Loss, and opened 2012 with a flourish: the new year, all bright and shining with possibilities. Now that January is almost over (and unfortunately my Christmas tree is still up - a sad reminder that I've already failed my resolution to become a better housekeeper!), I've been pondering: what do I want this new year to be about?
So I'm stealing an idea from two of my writing friends (who may have gotten it from someone else for all I know!), and I'm choosing a word of the year. I wish I could say that I used some magic formula to divine this word, or that it took a long time for me to come up with it. But the truth is, it came very easily.
Forward. My word for 2012 is "Forward."
It's true that a person can't leave all the bad stuff behind, but neither can one hang back and try to dwell forever in one place and time. We all have to progress. We all have to move forward. And that's what I'm going to do.
And so what about you? What word will define your life in 2012?
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