My Word for 2019

I have read about people choosing words to set the tone for their year.  I have considered doing it in years past, but I just never felt like it was necessary or even particularly helpful - for me, at least.  But the older I get, the more I value focus and productivity, the more it dawns on me that I don't have forever to create my legacy, the more I am drawn to the concept of choosing a word - just one word - to guide an entire year.

A year is a long time, you guys.  They go so fast, but they hold so much.  So many precious seconds.  We use them to measure our careers, our relationships, our lives.   There is a reason we celebrate anniversaries.  Years are important.  And if choosing a word can potentially help me focus more, live with increased intention, and overall just be better, well, then maybe, I decided, it might not hurt to choose a word.  

And so I thought.  And I thought.  And I thought.  And two words came to mind repeatedly.  Words that in some ways are almost complete opposites - or so I believed.

Those two words?  Relax.  And Wild.  

25 Accomplishments of 2018 (and Final Goal Update)

Once again, I finished out the year by listing my 25 accomplishments of 2018.  I enjoy making this list every year for so many reasons: enjoying the memories made this year, taking a personal accounting of how I spent my time (our most valuable resource, in my opinion), and planning how I will use what I learned this year in the future.

There have been years where I opted not to share my list.  I think we all have years like that.  Years marked by loss and grief may be ones where keeping our lists honest also means keeping them quiet and close to our hearts.  However, in years where we really pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones or accomplished things we are especially proud of, I think it's great to share our accomplishments with others, allowing us to exponentially increase our joy.  Regardless of whether you choose to share your list, I highly encourage you to take some time to make one.  

OK, here we go!

This year's list:

1. Parented teenagers.  Multiple teenagers.  And survived.  Barely.  I honestly don't know how.  I should probably give most of the credit to Dan, my mom and step-dad, and my sister, Jessica.  They keep me sane.  I mean, I parented the other non-teenager children, too.  But compared to this??  That was easy.

2. FINALLY took the Iowa bar exam.  That damn thing.  That all-encompassing, smothering, controlling, God damned thing.

3. Read 40 books.  Many of my friends put me to shame on this one.  I'll do better this year.  

4. Made an attempt to maintain this blog.  I will talk about this more in my Goals 2019 post, but for now, I'll just say that.

5. Learned the very basics of salsa dancing.