One Little Word 2015

I’ve been flirting with Ali Edwards’ One Little Word project since 2011. I picked a word in 2011 (Joy) and I did a few of the prompts, but the good Lord knows that I am not a scrapbooker. I was disappointed with myself and didn’t try it again for a couple of years, but last year I decided to choose the word Brave. It ended up being a far more challenging year than I could ever have imagined and yet, I think I lived out my word far more than I could have imagined. I knew that in 2014 I would have to face a huge loss, and I did, ten days into the year. But beyond that, I did things in the last year that I simply would not have done, but I used the word brave as a spur even though I, again, failed at the scrapbooking aspect of it. I spoke in front of a group of adults who weren’t students. I have danced in a semi-public forum. I have done activities with both of my kids that I would not have considered before. I even took on a leadership role in an organization that my daughter is now involved in.

All of that said, I am giving this whole thing another go. This year, for so many reasons, I’ve chosen the word “inspire.” We’ve been exploring some alternative ways of approaching school with the kids because I’ve been seeing too much stress in our six year old. One of the methods we’ve been looking at has as one of its mantras “inspire, not require” and that was part of the word choosing me. Part of it was an alternative definition, inspire also means to breathe. I love it. I’m excited to see where inspire leads all of us this year.