Happy New Year! It feels like 2024 went by in a flash. Do you feel the same? Looking back, I realize how full and textured it was. Rather than ringing in the new year with horns, fireworks, and drinks, I usually find New Years Eve a time of reflection. Did I live the past year the way I hoped and planned? What stands out? And of course, how do I want the next year to take shape? I don’t like to make new year’s resolutions, but I find that choosing a word to help guide my life for the year is a good way to keep centered. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and join me as I look back on 2023 and forward to 2024.
Looking Back – My WOTY for 2023
I chose “awe” for my word of the year (WOTY) last year. I wanted to spend more time really seeing, and truly appreciating the beauty and wonder in my life. I experienced so many “awe” moments in 2024, but I was also breezing through life so quickly, I missed a lot of them. Probably too many. I would give myself a B for my goal of “awe spotting” in 2023. Having been a college professor for many years, I feel compelled to breakdown how I got to the grade of a B for 2023. Below are the bullet points I identified in January 2023 to move me towards experiencing more awe in my life and how I graded each one at the end of the semester year.
Get out in nature. I always feel better physically and mentally when I am out in the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. We went camping several times, did some foraging, I took a lot of walks, and did some kayaking and biking, but I would like to have gotten out even more than I did. No weather excuses. We had a lovely wedding out in our yard last summer when son #3 got married. And we did a pizza party around our outdoor pizza oven for the rehearsal dinner, so I am counting that as being out in nature. I would give myself a grade of B in this section.
Experience life in person and not from a screen. I don’t watch a lot of T.V. so that is not an issue for me. As a matter of fact, I was trying to watch a little more T.V. in the evenings with Mr. U just so I could stay up on the conversations that always flow from the latest series and shows. However, I do spend a lot of time on my laptop, reading other blogs and of course, writing this one. I wrote 50 blog posts last year; one a week, with the exception a few weeks when we were gone on a trip. It surprises me how quickly two or three hours can go by when I am in the flow of writing. I would give myself a B+ in this section.
Spend time with a child. My grandchildren always help me experience awe. This year I was blessed with a new granddaughter. Holding her and watching her start to smile and giggle gives me deep awe-inspiring joy. My other two grands (7 & 9 years old) also leave me in awe. We took them camping and had a sleep over at the lake, as well as several other overnights. Time with them makes me laugh and puts life in perspective. I would give myself an A- in this section (only because I wish we had even more time together) and they all get an A+ in my book!
Extend kindness. It has been engrained in me to always be polite and nice, but I get so busy that sometimes I forget to extend kindness to others beyond that. Of course, it is easy to show kindness to those we love, but my intention with this was to extend more kindness to complete strangers, like paying for the coffee of the person behind me in line. Sadly, I give myself a C in this section, just because I got so busy that I did not seek out enough ways to extend kindness to strangers. Have to work on that one.
Travel. New sites, sounds and smells always elicit awe for me. We did a couple macro trips this year to Cabo and over to the east coast. We also made several mini and micro trips this year: Seattle for a game, helped son #1 and DIL move from Texas to Omaha, Priest Lake to celebrate my dad’s 96th birthday, Leavenworth to see the Christmas lights, Yakima wine tour with a group, Quinn Hot Springs in Montana, Glacier National Park, and Scottsdale for some winter sunshine. We did not go on a river cruise in Europe so that is still on my list. And while we did several trips, I would still like to do a little more travel. I would give myself a B in this section.
These grades all averaged out to a solid “B” and made for a wonderful and satisfying year.
Looking Ahead – My WOTY for 2024
It is difficult to pick just one word to help drive your intentions for a year. There are so many options. I considered the word “savor,” because I want to savor every beautiful minute of this one precious life. But it is too similar to “awe” and we all know how that went last year; B average and all. Besides, it is a commonly used WOTY and I wanted something unique that would express who I am and how I want to live out this year. Something I can hang my hat on. I chose the word… drumroll please… upcycled. Or, if I can indulge and use three words, it would be “the upcycled life.” I plan to live an upcycled life in two ways. One is the typical meaning of upcycle and the other is a different twist on the concept of upcycling, which has stuck with me ever since I wrote about it in a previous post about upcycling.
In our throw away world, I want to try to reduce waste and reuse items in new and unique ways. The definition of upcycle is to reuse items in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original, such as we did when we painted our kitchen cabinets – what were we thinking? We plan to downsize in 2024 and move into a much smaller home that I grew up in. One that my dad and grandpa built themselves. However, it will need a major rebuild, so we are hoping to embark on that this fall. We want to upcycle a lot of the wood, logs and interior into the rebuild, which will be a huge undertaking. Stay tuned.
While I will be using the word upcycled in the traditional sense of reusing old things in new ways, I also want to use it as a prompt for how I live this year. If the very definition of upcycling is to create something that is of higher quality and a better version than the original one, then why shouldn’t that be true for our lives as well? Upcycled speaks of living creatively – of finding unique and creative ways of living better. I always want to challenge myself to be my best, so living the upcycled life fits perfectly with that commitment. And now that I am retired, I have the time, freedom and opportunity to live my best life and be the best version of myself that I can. No excuses.
So, I am planning to live an upcycled life this year. Not to lose weight necessarily (although that would be a welcome byproduct) and certainly not try and look 30 years old again, but to live creatively and to be the best version of myself that I can. I want to be strong and healthy and happy so that I can enjoy life fully, unencumbered by joint pain, low stamina or concern for how I look or compare to others.
Happy New Year to each of you! Thank you for following along on my retirement journey. I hope the year ahead is full of blessings for you. Cheers to you, cheers to the new year and…. cheers to the retirement years!
