Happy New Year! We're off to a weird start. At 4:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, as my handsome hubby was upstairs consoling our 6 month old who had started crying, I heard a strange sound from our basement. Turns out our furnace went kaput. Great. 2012 was a year of two expensive hospitalizations (me having a baby and my oldest boy with leg issues over the Thanksgiving holiday), we also bought a new air conditioner. Then, right after Christmas expenses, we will start off the new year by fixing a furnace. Now, I'm not complaining too loudly as I am grateful we are able to pay for everything from our savings we have added to since getting married 8 years ago. And I know things could be worse...much worse. It is just stressful that our savings that have taken years to squirrel away can be forked out so quickly. It's kind of a "what will happen next" paranoia nagging at me.
It is funny (funny/strange...not funny/ha ha) that we had just clicked the "Pay" button online to pay off our car in total on Dec. 31. We were so excited to have no car payments for the first time in our marriage! And then, 12 hours later, we have another major expense come up. Ugh. We bundled up for the day and night on Jan. 1 since it was a holiday and didn't want to pay any extra for an emergency/holiday call. So, I'm sitting here during naptime on Jan 2., bundled up waiting on the heater guy who is coming over this afternoon to diagnose the problem. I'm crossing my fingers for a fast and cheap fix!
All this leads up to my word of the year: Edit. I had actually already chosen this word a few days before this furnace fiasco. (I keep picturing the Dad from "A Christmas Story" cursing away in the basement as smoke billows from the vents while he tinkers with the finicky furnace.) But it just fits in so nicely with our desire to save for these kind of unexpected emergency expenses.
Last year, my resolution was to not have any dirty dishes left out when going to bed. As you may know, I really loathe doing the dishes after cooking. I feel like the day should be over, and I should be able to put my feet up for a moment of quiet after the boys are in bed instead of scrubbing pots and pans at the sink. And I did pretty well with that resolution. I can count on my two hands how many times I skipped doing dishes which is pretty good considering there are 365 days in a year. And it was nice to not face a sink full of crap first thing in the morning, so I'll keep that good habit up.
But this year, I feel more like focusing on a word to encompass many aspects in my life. The word "Edit" came to mind because I want to only hold on to things that add value. I want to weed out distractions that take away from the important things like family and faith:
Less social media, TV, reading, movies, bubble baths (oh, how I hate to say it!), etc.
More playtime, crafting, walks, dates, and just listening to my boys thoughts and questions.
I also can apply this word to physical things:
Less shopping, clothes, food, home decor, etc.
More saving, cleanliness, resourcefulness, space, room to breathe.
I feel convicted on waste and clutter in my life. This is where the saving for emergencies comes in. If I really ask myself if purchases will add value to my life rather than just adding to the clutter, I can spend a lot less. And if I edit out some of my and my children's overflowing closets, will that lead to a more manageable laundry situation? I can't wait to find other ways to edit out the negative and choose to hold onto the positive this year.
Do you have a word of the year? Or have any ideas on ways to edit out the bad and focus on the good this coming year?
Hi, Kelly. Just read this blog post, but wanted to share my word for the year with you. I have been doing this for a few years when I realized that resolutions were not working for me. I felt like a theme word would be more useful. For 2013, my word is "confidence." I want to be confident in who I am in the Lord, in the decisions I make, in my relationships with others, in the way I spend my time, talents, resources, etc. So far, it is going well. The Lord is certainly testing my confidence in a lot of areas. Thanks for sharing your word and so sorry to hear about that furnace!
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