What is your word for the year?
Plus, talking simplifying back to school on Minimal-ish
Hey friend,
First of all, you may be wondering if I've sent the wrong email. Why am I talking about a word for the year in late August, you ask? Isn't this a conversation for January?
Well, the other day, I rediscovered mine. I was trying to find a new rhythm for planning my week, and I decided to try out a Notion template which prompted me to write down my word for the year.
It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I had to go looking for it. I vaguely remembered I even made one. It’s been that kind of year. The beginning of the year was consumed by moving, lots of changes and decisions followed that, and I've just still been in the postpartum fog a bit. So, I’ll admit I haven’t been reflecting on my word for the year every single month.
So I went looking for it, and I almost broke down in tears when I saw it: Home.
It was as if I was meant to forget it and rediscover it exactly when I needed it.
When I chose that word for the year, it was because the concept of home had been pulled out from under us as we suddenly learned it was best for us to move at the end of last year. And then it took forever to sell our home and we didn’t even know if we’d be able to get the home we fell in love with during our search. Spoiler alert, it all did work out. But it was an exhausting season.
I thought my word for the year was about finding home in more than just a physical place. And about making a new space our home.
It WAS about that when I chose it.
But the past 3+ months, I’ve been re evaluating home in a different way. I’ve been mulling over diving deeper into making home our true refuge in all the ways - including making it a space where we learn and grow together. In simpler terms, I’ve been considering homeschooling throughout the summer. I actually started to feel strongly that homeschool was what was right for us at the end of last school year, when my daughter officially became an upcoming kindergartener.
But it wasn’t an easy decision by any means. Though I felt this was what was being very clearly laid on my heart, it was a scary decision for a lot of reasons. One being that she’s extremely active and loves to go-go-go. I know she’d likely do fine in full day kindergarten. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that homeschooling was our path forward.
My husband wasn’t on board at first, so the answer was no, but when things changed in his heart, we moved forward as of mid-July that we would be homeschooling for Kindergarten.
I still had (have) all the doubts. Doubts that got even bigger when we finally made the decision. And those doubts and fears were eating me alive just last week. I couldn’t sleep, I was feeling sick every evening- isn’t it amazing how big and hard and weighty decisions we make for our kids can feel?
In the midst of the doubts, I rediscovered my word for the year- HOME -exactly when I needed it. It was actually the day before our kindergarten orientation would have been. And this word has a whole new meaning for me now.
I tell you this story because maybe you need this, too. Maybe you need to go digging for your word for the year and you need to remember it at this very moment. Or maybe you know what it is, still, but reflecting on what it has meant to you so far this year and what it means moving forward would be meaningful for you right now.
So what is your word for this year?
(this could also apply to an important goal, intention you set, etc if you didn’t choose a word)
How has it held meaning for you over the past several months? Even if you didn’t quite keep it at the center of your monthly planning and reflections like you planned to?
What might it mean for you in the months moving forward?
We choose these words with intention at the beginning of the year with hopes that word will help us continue to live intentionally throughout the year. And it's okay if we forget about it. But maybe your word wants to be your guide right now, as you intended it to be back in January. I hope reflecting on this is as meaningful for you as it was for me.
Minimal-ish Updates - in case you missed it…
The past two weeks on minimal-ish we’ve been talking about all things simplifying back to school.
Episode 194: First, we talked about it from a typical schooling perspective with Diana Rene of The Decluttered Mom. She’s always sharing all things back to school systems, and I love the ones she shared on the show. From dealing with all the papers to simplifying school lunches to a deeper conversation on the bittersweetness of the season, you’ll find something to take away from this one even if your kids are younger than school aged or school looks a little different for your family.
Episode 195: Next, we talked simplifying back to HOMEschool with Mandy Davis of Home Built Education. I was super intrigued to hear a homeschooling perspective from Mandy, as she has been both a teacher and a principal at public and private schools over the years. She did not disappoint with such an encouraging perspective. We talked about getting things done with a little one around (her youngest is 20 months), why she homeschools, dealing with the overwhelm of all the different curriculums, and comparison.
This week on the show, I’ll be doing a solo episode to conclude the series that I’m really looking forward to! We’ll be talking about the four minimal-ish pillars and how we can apply them to this season.
Find Minimal-ish by searching for it wherever you listen to podcasts or find it on my website at the button below!
One more thing - as I’ve tried to get back into a rhythm for the school year, I’ve been back to my morning routine. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know mornings have been really impactful for me. Since I’m homeschooling this year, mornings will be a time where I spend some time on my faith and my work. I wanted to share a resource with you that I created - it helps me set up my days intentionally via a quick + simple journaling session. It’s called Simple Morning Lists and you can find it at the button below.
PS: If it is telling you that you can only get it if you’re in the United States, just search “Simple Morning Lists” on Amazon. It should ship pretty much anywhere!
Sponsor Spotlight:
A sponsor I’m really excited about is Mylio. Mylio is a software that helps you keep all of your photos (plus other digital files) all in one place. There are so many ways you can use Mylio, and I just love that it helps you declutter your photos easily.
You can download the free app at mylio.com/minimalish You’ll also get a 25% discount on Mylio+ as a listener of the show when you use that link if you want the extra features!
That’s all for today! Thank you so much for being here and supporting minimal-ish by reading these newsletters or listening to the show. I’m so glad we’re walking towards simple together!
-Desirae
I did not chose a word this year, that I can remember anyway. I may have to go digging myself. But I love how God reinforced His calling on your heart this way. I just never get used to it.