To celebrate the end of the school year, we went out for dinner as a family. This isn’t something we’ve done before. We’ve consumed food in cafes, pubs and restaurants at dinner time, but in the context of desperately trying to survive a social engagement with a rapidly expiring child. Chips and pizza were often involved.
This was different – it was an occasion. We all put on nice-ish clothes and headed to a local Indian restaurant I’d heard good things about. Excited, but with the odd tinge of apprehension we walked into the restaurant. Hopes were high for a fun night – and it was. It was new and different and lots of fun.
Reflecting on the evening, it was evident that our family is in a new season of life.
That family outing was the inspiration for my word for 2020 – ADVENTURE.
We’ve survived the preschool years, and we have a solid foundation in terms of our home, finances, friends and family. We’re ready to enjoy getting out into the world and mixing it up a bit more.
I don’t have any big plans. It’s more about taking a positive approach to uncertainty, taking a few more chances and being more forgiving about racking things up to experience.
I’m off to a flying start. Adventure 1 – going out to meet someone without my phone (necessitated by me leaving my phone at my parents and having to meet my dad halfway to be reunited with it). Followed by Adventure 2 – breaking out in hives. Not quite what I’d had in mind!
Do you set yourself a guiding word for year? Let me know, I love hearing them.
Word of the Year archives:
2019 – Enough
2018 – Community
2017 – Slow not lazy
Postscript: I wrote this post at the end of December, but never quite got around to publishing it. I’m embracing this as triumph in slow living – not because it took me so long to publish it, but because I am publishing it on my own timetable rather than some arbitrary timetable that doesn’t suit me.
4 Comments
Jeanette Dame
March 4, 2020 at 5:29 pmMy guiding word for 2020 is Fulfilment. You inspired me to develop a 20 for 2020 and a theme. I’m embracing both, so thank you.
Amy
March 7, 2020 at 2:05 pmI like it. I’ve never done a 19 in 2019 type activity, but I can imagine that just writing the list would be very useful to help you uncover the kind of direction you’d like your life to take.
Virginia
March 4, 2020 at 8:13 pmI think mine has become ‘just do it’. I laughed about the arbitrary timetable, so me at times. Here’s hoping you have more pleasant adventures than hives!
Amy
March 7, 2020 at 2:06 pmLove it. I can use a bit more just do it at times, definite tendency to overthink things or think everything needs to be in place before I start something.