My Word for 2017

Let's travel the path together.

On Facebook, a number of friends have posted variations of the same request. Pick a word to define the New Year. Some want a word that starts with the first letter of your name, or the third letter of your name, or maybe a word you pick by opening a nearby book, closing your eyes and pointing.

For purposes of example, I grabbed the book on the couch next to me, picked a page at random and pointed to a word. Ok, first try, I pointed to a blank spot on a new chapter page. Second try, I hit on the word "slept."

No, seriously. I randomly hit the word "slept." Could sleeping be my theme for 2017? Sleep has truly been a dominant theme in the past for me. I've suffered from a sleep disorder which led to fibromyalgia, and have taken some heavy duty meds because of it. During various illnesses I have slept in such a coma-like fashion that my son and his wife were so concerned that I hadn't moved in 13 hours they debated about putting a mirror under my nose to see if I was breathing. I've also been known to be so sensitive to sound that I've jumped up in bed, heart racing and gasping. Most recently, a haywire thyroid raised my anxiety level so high that I was barely sleeping, and would wake up to sweating and nameless fear coursing through me. But that was 2015. 2016 was my year of getting healthy and I've been successful. The only focus on sleep for 2017 is going to be sleeping in on weekends and having breakfast in bed.

My real word for 2017 is "Renewal." Originally, I considered "reinvention" but that is a road I have traveled several times, and in my mind, it implies new paths. This year, I want to go back down roads where I have already been. Not to go backward, not to indulge in nostalgia (although "Nostalgia" IS a tempting theme for someone whose name starts with "N").

What I want to do is find those paths where I left behind parts of myself that were too heavy or inconvenient to carry along with me. Interests I set aside while raising children, working numerous jobs and treading water to survive. Things such as unfinished or even unstarted personal, creative and artistic work. Activities that once defined me as a person. The joy of sharing discoveries.

It does, at first, sound a bit self-centered. All about me. Reading this, my loved ones may feel that I might be considering abandoning them for a narcissistic romp of self-indulgence. What they should remember is that they traveled with me along many of these paths. They may have noticed when certain things were set aside. What they may not realize is that some of the paths were abandoned so that I could continue traveling with them. And I don't intend to leave them behind now. I want them to see that by being my authentic self, I can be there for my children, my grandchildren, my extended family, my friends, and the Love of my Life in new and exciting ways.

So, come along with me, loved ones. Let's explore the path of renewal together. It leads right to the Smile Side of Life. You may even find some things you dropped along the way.