Nurturing the new year

Custom word pendants for 2010 in my Etsy shop

As someone who is not very good at sticking to New Year's resolutions, I stopped making them a few years back. While resolutions are great, I often found myself lacking motivation because my own resolutions would quickly feel like one more thing on my to do list rather than a goal and before I knew it the intention to eat better or be more organized quickly found its way to the bottom of my list.

I wish I could remember how I came to use guiding words throughout the year instead of resolutions but I honestly can't recall. What I do know is that choosing a word (or sometimes three) holds a deeper meaning for me than a resolution. It's not something that I have to do, but rather an intention that creates its own energy and acts more like a guide throughout the year teaching important lessons along the way.

It took me a while to find my word this year. I thought I had it twice but although the words I had originally chosen abundance and embrace are wonderful words that I may very well use in coming years, something just didn't feel quite right about using them for where I am in this moment, they somehow weren't mine for this year. When I finally gave some quiet thought about what this new year is really about for me my word became clear...

Nurture.

The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education; training.
That which nourishes; food, diet.
The environmental influences that contribute to the development of an individual

This one word, more than any other I can think of, is the word that embodies what 2010 will be for me.

Nurturing mother: I have been given an unbelievable gift of becoming a mother for the second time and when she arrives in the spring all my attention will be lovingly dedicated to tending to the needs of this new life as well as a toddler who will be adjusting to her new role as big sister. I know the better part of this year will be putting some of my own goals on the backburner to allow room for our growing family and I completely accept and embrace this.

Nurturing friend: I learned some hard lessons about friendship in 2009 and what it means to be one. I lost a very important friendship last year and came into new growth and stronger bonds with a couple others. One of the lessons I learned from both of these experiences is that it is important to nurture the friendships you hold dear in your life. This is easier said than done when all your attention is focused on career and family it seems but nurturing my chosen relationships is something I have been giving a lot of thought to as of late and my intention is to be more present where I can. 

Nurturing my career: In Kelly Rae's book: Taking Flight she writes about listening to those whispers that we tend to ignore. The more I allow these whispers to be heard, the more signs I see that encourage me to explore the pathways they are showing me.

During the fall of last year I wrote out my dream job description where these whispers appeared right there on the pages. As crazy as it sounds that one action turned into an opportunity to facilitate my first workshop. Though this will be a brand new challenge for me, I am beyond excited to nurture this next step on a possible career path. As much time as I have spent drowning out the sound of these whispers with plenty of other noise, they appeared loud and clear in the pages of the career journal that is my dream life.

Of course as with anything there is much work to be done if I am serious about doing this. So much so that the thought seems overwhelming much of the time, especially with two children and some nasty gremlins. However, the ideas keep flowing and the excitement keeps growing and rather than act impulsively, I am going to take the whole of 2010 to study, research and explore something that I never even knew was possible until recently.

Nurturing wife: Jimmy and I talked about my word for 2010 on New Year's Eve and after some thought he chose his word for this year as Joy. Before we had Isabella, we had eleven years to dote on each other, but of course babies tend to change where your attention is focused. My goal as a wife this year is to shift some of that attention back on him, and the romance that was so much a part of our lifestyle, and help bring as much joy as I can to into his life this year.

Nurturing self care: When I gave birth to Isabella she became my entire existence. I completely set my own needs aside to take care of hers. While I realize there is a fair amount of this that happens when there is a newborn, I also learned firsthand that it's not healthy for a new mom to completely forget herself in the process of nurturing a baby. Therefore, this year is also about nurturing myself. Taking the time to care for myself by resting when I need to, asking for help when I need it (a tough one for me) and allowing time for simple yet nurturing pleasures like pedicures, books, friends. Simply put: mommy time.

This self-care also spills over into my health. While I was pregnant with Isabella, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes which oddly enough came with some mixed blessings. I have just discovered that I again have gestational diabetes with this pregnancy and while it might seem disappointing to some, I actually have a very positive attitude surrounding it because this time I want to use the info I have learned to help others and continue to learn more about it all.

I feel somewhat better prepared for what to expect although I have some new challenges to face -- the first being sticking to this way of eating with a toddler. Before Isabella was born I was able to keep temptation such as breads, pastas and starchy veggies out of the house, which certainly made it easier, but many of the things I am now restricted from are part of her daily diet so not only do I still need to shop for and prepare certain types of carbs for her needs, the urge for me to not finish her leftovers or have "just one bite" becomes very strong.

The second new challenge is that after a long discussion with my father, I have decided to remove anything made from cow's milk out of my diet. This is difficult only because things like certain cheeses and yogurts provided protein rich snacks for me last time, not to mention saying goodbye to things like Haagen Dazs ice cream and butter. Luckily there are plenty of dairy alternatives with goat's milk, sheep's milk and nut milks easily available.

Nurturing creativity: As part of self-care I also wish to expand my creative views of the world through writing, photography, food and design. All of which feed the soul and make me a better mother, wife and friend.

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Did you choose a grounding word (or words) this year? If so, please share here if you feel comfortable doing so. And since I have put my word on a pendant this year to always carry with me as a talisman (as seen in the photo above) I have decided to offer the same for you. 

If you have chosen a word and want to always have it close to you, I am offering to customize a Bella Wish pendant hand-stamped with your 2010 word in a thick, 20-gauge disc for $34. This will be a limited offer as I will be not offering custom pendants after January 15th to begin preparations for our new arrival. However, I will be offering these pendants through January 31st. So if you have found your word, consider ordering your pendant today, it would be my honor to make it for you. If you have more than one word, charm bracelets are also available. Contact me for details.

If you are looking for guidance in choosing a word, perhaps Christine Kane can help.

Wishing you a blessed 2010.

Comments

[Marianne @ Zen Peacekeeping]

I love it! What a perfect choice for the year to come. I also hope that there will be lots of nurturing of you!

[jenica]

oh hun. what a perfect word and sentiment for you! my word is wholeness and encompasses much of this nurturing you speak of. ;-D so love you.

[kristi]

such a lovely way to make changes in a new year.
i'm off to do the worksheet!
wishing you a blessed 2010 too!
ps
my sister adores her necklace. she was bubbling with joy when she wrote me an email saying that she had always wanted one of your creations! what a beautiful synchronicity. i had no idea that she read your blog and knew about you?! i love these "small world" experiences. don't you?!
thank you again.

[jana]

I love this on so many levels; my head is spinning with ideas for my word of the year---yes, I am wishing you all that you dream of for the coming year---with two babes (4 and 3), my poor husband has lost a bit of my affection and attention---he does deserve a return to the pre-child attention ratio :)

support and hugs,

jana

[Jeanne]

Stacy - my word is lighten. Lighten up on myself, lighten up on my expectations of other people, lighten up my physical self and lighten the stress in my life.

I understand your word and know that you will succeed.

hugs

[nicole kraft]

I chose the word Trust. I just found out (surprise!)that we're having baby #2 and it really threw me for a loop. Our kids will be just over 2 years apart and I'm feeling a bit anxious about this and many other things it brings up for me. Anyway, I'm focusing my intention on trusting in Divine timing as well as trusting myself as a woman, wife and mother.

I love your word! It seems to fit perfectly for you!

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks--and I'm asking for one of your custom New Year pendants from my husband! It's just the daily reminder I need!

Take care.
Nicole

[amy rehnae]

how excited i am to have found your blog! so inspiring and creative! my word for this year is believe, and i will be placing an order for one of your pendants inscribed with it for sure! yeah!!

[darlene]

beautiful and so wonderfully well thought out ... its a good word honey, xoxox

[savorit]

this is a great post and word. my word for the year is rediscover and it follows many of the same themes as yours! i wrote about it here: http://savorit.typepad.com/savor_it/2010/01/resolution-rediscover-.html. happy new year-may it be filled with blessings for you!

[Lis]

such such SUCH beautiful words, beautiful reflections.

my word for 2010 is Fearless. I wrote about it a bit on my blog - http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-reflection-1-my-word-for-2010.html

and you just HAD to suggest a necklace (!) ooh, temptation = to Hagen Daz!

Happy happy new year to you - what adventures you have awaiting you!

[Julie]

such beautiful words for both of you - what an awesome year you have as a family coming up. My words for this year are Rhythm and Balance - looking to find and create our own family rhythms, find balance between inside and out, being social and being family, to find my own rhythm and balance between meeting my family's needs and my own.