my word for 2016

happy 2016! my mom emailed my family on new year’s day this year asking us to each choose a word in place of resolutions for the new year. i know that a lot of people do this, but i never have and i decided to join in and start this tradition. my mom said: “pick your own word and let it guide you through the year. it will keep coming up in the least expected places. it will surprise and delight you in all the ways you will find it hidden in things. it is better than making another list of resolutions that will look quite a bit like last year’s.” i agree, and so i thought the entire plane ride from africa –> back to europe about what mine could be..
i think my word this year is settle. it’s for a few reasons and meanings of the word… one, i want to relax and slow down in 2016 after really pushing it and packing it in last year. my friend leslie shared a story with me about a man traveling through africa with the natives carrying his equipment and luggage. after three days the natives grow restless, so they sit down and refuse to move. the man talks to all of them and tells them to get up. “get up. we need to keep moving or else we will miss the deadline.” but the natives refuse to move. finally, he talks to the head native who says,
“we have traveled too quickly, and now we must wait for our spirits to catch up with our feet.”
i so related to this simple story, and it is what helped me choose my word this year.

i am so glad we’ve done all that we have and that we still get to be over here in europe, but this year i want to savor where i am and settle into a place. we will still have adventures here and there, but it will be a good focus for me to get more of a routine and feel settled (a feeling that i have desperately missed the past 5 months!) we are
also in such an amazing city to settle into… in amsterdam! plus, even when we are traveling this year
i want to have a reminder to stop and smell the roses and “settle” into new places rather than speed through.

i also like settle because it not only means settle in, but settle on. we have LOTS of decisions this year about where we will go after the 6 months here in amsterdam. it could be staying here longer term, going somewhere else in europe, coming back to california, doing something crazy like taking a job in NYC, or trying to get back to utah. every day my mind is already spinning about which will be best, what we should do, and all of the different factors// pros & cons of many options. i feel like it will be a major step because the next place we move should be somewhere we will live for a few years, since we’ve moved around so much leading up to it. chase and i have realized we just have to be patient, trust that things will come together to make things clear, and i’m hoping we will be able to settle on our plans and feel good about them. in the meantime i will have the reminder to settle my mind and just enjoy where i am :) through the year i will try to let things settle in as they happen, be patient, and be intentional about grounding our life in a new place.

i can’t wait to settle in amsterdam and settle on our future.
if you do this tradition, feel free to share your word! i LOVE hearing others.

happy new year – and expect some amsterdam updates soon! we are in our new apartment
and i’m starry-eyed walking around this cozy, rainy, charming city knowing it’s ours to call home (for now).

xo