My Word of the Year

I'm not sure how I feel about this whole word of the year thing, mainly because I'm afraid I'll forget it before I'm able to focus on it.  I saw a post in a fitness group of someone asking how others had decided on their word for 2020, and just like that a word came to me, whether or not I wanted one: balance.

My whole life I've always need to be working, be moving, constantly. In high school I was the one knitting hats while our volleyball coach made our team watch the competition play, and in college I was that group member, the one who would sew regional costumes for our Heifer International presentation. Even as a teacher if I'm not teacher I'm creating projects for my students. 

It used to bother me how people talked about the fact that I always had to be busy like it was a negative. I've come to understand that isn't a bad thing. It's made a lot of things in my life possible. It's helped me build a career, a reputation, a home, and a side business that has helped my husband and I have 3 temporary children in our lives. It's made me the sort of teacher, friend, and temporary parent that brings light to the lives of those I care about.

However, that only works if I balance my drive; if I apply it to the different parts of my life in equal measure: health, work, business, hobbies, and family. 

Maybe now I'll be able to remember my word the whole year through. I'd say something lofty like "I'll use this blog to hold myself accountable through weekly check-ins," but that's a little too lofty.