Getting ready for the new year @Liz Flaherty

I have to give a Sorry! here. I didn't realize when I wrote this that the subject had already been covered really well. I hope you'll have patience with another look at words.

Does anyone else do a word for the year? I do. I replaced promises to lose weight, read fill-in-the-number-of books, and clean out the crisper drawer in the refrigerator with single words meant to define the coming year.

I've had some good ones. Joy, expand, and my personal favorite magic. My word for 2017 was evidently a failure, because I can't remember what it was. This year was a time of personal struggle, political struggle, and more busyness than I had any business signing up for. In that busyness, several things slid past me. Birthdays I should have acknowledged, time with people I want to be with, pleasure in things I enjoy.

So here have been my word ideas for the year to come.

(1) Acceptance. Because I have the most godawful tendency to dwell on things and not let them go. (Emphasis intended--it's that bad.)
(2) Laughter. Because if you can't get through the day any other way, that's definitely a good one.
(3) Prioritize. Because, you know, I'm not good at it and I need to learn. Right away before I do anything else.
(4) Remember. Because I forget things all the time. Every time I mislay something, the word dementia runs screaming through my mind and even though it's probably an unavoidable rite of aging, I'm terrified of it.
(5) Appreciate. Because I should. Always.

And then there was this morning on Facebook, when my friend Jerra Moreland posted a meme that said "Be kind even to mean people."

Oh. Oh, yeah. Kindness. Why didn't I think of that?

So, my word for 2018 is actually six of them. Since I can't possibly remember the whole list (there's #4, after all), I'm going to print it out several times so that even when I lose the list, I'll be able to find it again.

Happy New Year to you all. If you'd like to share your word or your resolutions, we'd love hearing them.

Speaking of New Year's, don't forget what's coming up any day now, and can be pre-ordered even as we speak. Wonderful new offerings from Heartwarmers Karen Rock, Virginia McCullough, Tara Randel, and Loree Lough. I can't wait!