Each and every year we take time to reflect back on our personal lives. We step back from our work selves — where we’re busy designing personalized growth charts, lost in the land of big sister shirts and big brother shirts, and when personalized baby gifts are always on the brain. It’s time to breath and meditate, and choose our word to focus on for 2014.
Our Petite Lemon family has been choosing a word to “live by” for the year since we started this adventure, 3 years ago. You can read our personal word journey’s here: 2011, 2012, 2013. Does it make us better? Are we always successful? Who knows — but we know that taking the time to reflect on our personal lives, our families, our priorities — what we want out of this life is what matters. So we choose words to help guide us for the year, to keep us on track, to bring us back into balance when things get a little swervy.
And so we begin …
Last year Paula selected the word EMBRACE.
Embrace this stage of life (2 kids, growing up before my eyes!!).
Embrace the chaos and fullness of life (work, kids, family, house!!).
And learn to pause during the day and EMBRACE all of the wonderful things in my life!
This year Paula chose the word PRESENT.
I am a full time working mom — life is CRAZY!! The kids don’t stop growing, the activities, the homework, the play dates, the sports, it’s non stop and I know it will only continue to get busier. Petite Lemon continues to grow, my family continues to grow — so this year I am going to focus on being more present in the different roles I play. Being present in my work life and then shutting down that part of my brain when I’m with the kids and being present with them, being present on a date with my husband, or spending time with my girlfriends. Our time and energy, especially as mothers is so valuable — I want mine to be rich, joyful and be present in it.
For this year, Hillary chose the word HEALTHY.
I really want 2013 to be all about developing HEALTHY habits. I don’t want to have to make the HEALTHY decision. I want to have it be automatic for me. I want HEALTHY to be my way of life, focusing on all aspects of HEALTHY including foods, exercise, mental, work/life balance, relationships etc.
This year, Hillary selected the word LEADER.
I am a “get it done” type of person. I feel like if I want it done, I know how to do it and I can just do it. Then it’s on my timeline and I know it gets done because it’s on my personal checklist. The problem with this is I get bogged down with all of these tasks and I am overloaded. I don’t have time to do things I want to do. This year I need to delegate and LEAD people in my life. I am figuring out which tasks I can have someone else do. I am figuring out how to be a LEADER and LEAD efficiently.
Last year, Ruth chose the word COMMITMENT.
I am new to Petite Lemon, and one word for 2013 is new for me as well. I am choosing the word COMMITMENT. About this time 3 years ago, I set a goal for myself to loose an enormous amount of weight and to improve myself towards a healthier way of living and lifestyle. After nearly one year of increasingly hard workouts, changed eating habits, and COMMITMENT I successfully achieved my goal. But that commitment didn’t stop at reaching that goal, it continues each and every day of my life to stay committed to this healthy lifestyle. Commitment is so much more than this to me as this word touches every area of my life. It encompasses my jobs, all my relationships with God, family, and friends, with everything I take on each day to do my very best at everything I do. My newest commitment is to Petite Lemon, and I am excited what the future holds and my commitment to this group I work with. May 2013 be a year for me to hold strong to all of my commitments.
This year, Ruth chose the word CHANGE.
After one year with Petite Lemon I am excited to what is a head, and this year I am choosing the word CHANGE. I am choosing the word CHANGE for several reasons. I enter a new phase in my life where I need to incorporate various changes that will be and have begun in my life. While working at Petite Lemon, I will need to also take on personal challenges that go along with getting older. I have an aging parent that needs to be cared for. My youngest child I will complete my responsibilities with raising and caring for and celebrate his entrance into adulthood, the work force full time upon graduation from college, and enjoy him taking on family responsibilities while gaining a new daughter-in-law. I am very excited to see where these changes take me and what I experience through them. I pray with each change this year I accomplish the necessary task to make each one a joyous and memorable experience and for those involved that they are content. One newest change is the addition to our home of a new kitten who came in shotly after our yourngest cat passed on. You would think that after growing up children you would never have to go back and feel like there are children to raise in your home. Not so. Aging parents and new kittens are just like having children all over again. And the responsiblilites are endless and different. May 2014 and the CHANGES be handled successfully.
Last year, Catherine chose the word PERSPECTIVE.
per·spec·tive
1. A way of regarding situatio
2. The proper or accurate poin
3. A mental view or outlook: “It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present” (Fabian Linden).
With a 2.5 year old, a newborn, and a growing business, I know this year will be all about patience (and juggling too, but that’s more of a skill and less of a personal/emotional trait I need to personify!). Being a mom and being able to work from home doing what I love are two of life’s biggest blessings, but both can be draining and take a toll on my patience level. Having a great husband helps, but making sure to take care of myself is important and will help me stay focused to be the best patient, loving mom, as well as efficient, professional businesswoman that I want to be.
Last year, my word was CHOICE.
I think the main reason why this post is finally being put together mid-way through January is because I’ve been procrastinating. I just haven’t felt inspired. The past two years, my words have just appeared to me. The past few months I’ve been reflecting on this past year — probably the most defining year of my life after experiencing brain surgery and the death of my beloved Grandmother. What do I want for myself in 2013? I’ve picked out a few words the last few weeks, trying to see if they’d stick — but nothing has until this morning. It finally came to me — 2013 is going to be all about CHOICES. This year, I’m choosing to win the hand I’ve been dealt.
This year, my word is LOVE.
Every year, it kind of comes to you — it’s fitting, your word. It’s naturally defining for where you are at in your life. Putting this post together, chatting with my colleagues, learning what their words are — when they share, I think their words are so right on for where they are at in their lives. When I go back and look through the last three years — reading our words, seeing our photos, each year our changes, our growth, what our words mean for each of us, babies growing up, life events and changes — I really see that ultimately we’re still just big kids who are growing up too. The past few years, I’ve chosen to do a lot of reflecting on my life. I live with a chronic illness. My life isn’t what I thought it would be, or where I thought I would be I guess. I live a beautiful life, a very happy, fulfilling life. I’m extremely grateful. It’s just that things are so different than the blue print that I had hanging up in my mental picture for so long. Looking back at my previous words — they’ve ultimately been about fixing or adjusting myself. Faith. Adapt. Choice. Not in a bad way. But I just have been wanting to find a solution, to deal with where I’m at. I’ve been searching for new ways to cope. This year I say screw it! I’ve decided to throw all of the mending out the window and I’ve just decided to be. Just to love. Love myself, as is, however I am today, tomorrow, whenever.
What is your word?
Cheers and Happy 2014!
Jessica,
and all of your friends at Petite Lemon
