Choosing a word for your year was a new concept to me in 2017, I heard a few bloggers and podcasts talk about it early in the year and it peaked my interest so as we start 2018 I decided to give it a try.

I went back and forth between many words that seem to be popular as people plan their resolutions - healthy, organized, fit, calm, and the list goes on. I have a long list of resolutions and bucket list items for the year and I was having a hard time thinking of one word that would incorporate all I wanted to work on. As I was scrolling on Instagram recently I spotted someone's word that resonated with me and my plans for the year.

The word was "ME."

At first I struggled with this choice, it seemed selfish and self-serving. As a mom of three kids, a wife, sister, friend, and co-worker I rarely find time to "treat yo-self" much less dedicate time to just me. I spend my days cooking, doing laundry, wiping bottoms, wiping tears, cleaning up toys, and answering emails among other duties - I don't usually have tons of me time during the day. But as I looked at my list of resolutions more, I realized that many of the items on my list centered around improving myself. Nobody wants a mother/spouse/friend/employee that is not happy, choosing the word "ME" will ultimately have far reaching benefits beyond myself.

A few of my resolutions include:

Find my exercise - I am done having kids and I'm creeping towards 35 years old, it's time I find a workout that I love. I'm not promising to run a marathon or climb a mountain this year but I want to find an activity that I will enjoy.
More creative time - I want to sew more garments, write a few sewing patterns and submit articles and projects to magazines and blogs. I need to spend a lot of time creating in order to accomplish these goals.
Mental Health - practicing gratitude, tracking my goals, and meditation - actively working on improving my mental health will have endless benefits throughout my life.

There are a lot of small resolutions inside these big areas but 2018 will be a year of working on me in many ways.