Tag Archives: #wordoftheyear

Roots

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Happy New Year, my beloveds! Wow, so much has changed in the last twelve months, and here we are at the beginning of another collection of twelve. Like most people, I try and take the new year as an excuse to reflect, recollect and do a little introspective digging. Instead of resolutions, if you’ve been following along on the blog, you’ll know, that I have chosen a word of the year for the last few years. My word for 2023 was “magic”. It was chosen with the intent of adding a little pizzazz to celebrations. To include decorations, fun, festivity, and go a little “over the top” for friends and family on a more consistent basis. I failed miserably.

Although quite a bit of “magic” happened in 2023: our son got married, we bought a new property, we moved to a new place, some kids flew the coop, and we all had to adjust. There was certainly little time for adding anything extra to moments… I was barely holding on to the bare minimum requirements! As I look back, yeah, I don’t think my magic mantra was adequately applied to the year, as I had hoped. And so I acknowledge that and move on (which is what we do when we reflect, recollect and delve into your persona, right?)

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

So here we are in the middle throws of January already, and another collection of months lie before us, with the possibilities of a new word of the year. Wanna hear it? Drum roll. ”Roots”.

Roots is the word I have chosen for myself for 2024. It’s a complex word, really, with the full definition almost a page long… roots as in part of a plant, roots as an origin, a base, a support, the core of something, or to root about and dig into deeper. What image does it conjure up for you when you hear “roots”? Can you see how it could apply to you in the coming year? (I’d love to hear about it… contact me!)

I got a “sprout” kit for Christmas from the hubby. Essentially it’s a bunch of stacking trays in which to germinate seeds… for eating. Those “microgreens” that appear in all the healthy eating commercials. (I since have learned that microgreens and sprouts are technically different things, but I digress). When a seed germinates, the seed opens up and “sprouts” first… shortly after, the roots appear. The roots are stronger and thicker and provide a support for the plant. It nourishes it and branches out to seek water and food. I’m sure you all are familiar with tree roots and how they support the tree. 

photo via Heartlight

The Mitton crew has moved into a new place. We are just now beginning to meet some new people. Friendships are developing at school, work, and our new church. These are people who are still “sprouts” to us. Tiny friendships full of potential and nutrients, but no support or root development yet. It takes time for roots to grow. I heard somewhere it takes events, or shared experiences to create a history with another person. A root, if you will, that stems growth between the two of you. We have yet to develop those here. Perhaps in 2024, we will.

I’m excited about our big garden space at Itsnotta farm. It was too late to plant when we moved in, so I’ve been dreaming about it. What growth will take place? Will we fail miserably at certain things? Likely. Yet, this is the way we grow figuratively, too! We try, we dream, we reach for the sun, and turn our little heads toward the light and put down strong roots to stabilize and secure us. We seek nutrient rich sources that help us grow and flourish.

What does it mean for me this year? Maybe it means rooting around into things a little. Maybe we will have to dig a little deeper to get to the heart of our relationships. Maybe try things a little differently. Who knows? Eleven and a half months are left before us to get to the “root” of 2024. Won’t you join me on the journey?!

Word of the Year 2023

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Greetings and Happy New Year my beloveds! Did you even notice I took a little sabbatical over the holidays? No worries… here I am back in your inbox for another week and another brand new year!

If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember that I no longer subscribe to resolutions or goals at the beginning of new calendars, but have adopted the practice of picking a #wordoftheyear. You are welcome to check past posts or my Pinterest board dedicated to such endeavours. Here are some links:

And so the time has rolled around once more for a new word to embody my feelings and actions for 2023. Are you ready for the reveal?! Here it is:

REFRESH

Perhaps many of you are feeling it this year as well. Refresh. Not “freshen” or “fresh” but “Refresh” as in — again. Here’s the definition I found in Oxford’s dictionary:

re·fresh

/rəˈfreSH/

verb

  1. give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.” the shower had refreshed her”

Sigh. That’s where I am feelin’ this year is going to go. It’s the kind of revamp your computer and “refresh” your screen kinda thing. When you have too many tabs open and everything is slow and sluggish. Covid has done a big number on so many of us and I’m feeling we all need to hit the refresh button!

It’s like you’ve been working hard in the hot sun and you finally sit down for a second or two to cool off with a fresh lemonade… but it’s not always sweet. Sometimes you need a little spike to quench the heat. It’s the same in life. You need a cool-off that clears the palate without adding the fillers or sugar coating. A little shock value to reset and refocus. It’s only then that we can carry on with the hard work. It’s what I am manifesting this year. A refresh.

It’s shaping up to be a full year for the Mitton crew and some big changes are coming down the pipes: two of us have milestone birthdays, I am so going to dye my hair, and the kids are getting older and flexing their wings ready to fly from the nest. Will the hubby and I survive? Are we ready for the next stages? Will he like my hair? Refresh.

The Bible refers to this state of “refreshing” after an extended period of lamenting. The time of sitting in ashes and fasting is followed by a time of “getting up, washing, eating a good meal, dressing in clean garments” and moving on with life! That’s what I wish this year to be. There is a time for lamenting and feeling sad… reflection even. Then, there is a time to scrub yourself clean from the past and go out into the world ready to face the next step! Refreshed.

“REFRESH” photo by: Tadeusz-Lacota (Unsplash)

Are you with me? Will mittonmusings change? Maybe. Will life change? Certainly. It usually does — whether we want it to or not. I’m ready for the Refresh this year! Join me to see how it all pans out!

WONDER

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Photo by Nikola Johnny Mirkovic on Unsplash
Sitting alone in the dark solitude of our empty living room,
  sipping my morning coffee and looking out our front picture window
 into the distant panorama of a residential street that had yet to awaken,
  I listened to the empty silence of a cold winter's morning.
 The frozen landscape crackled with the winter's bitter wind... 
 a fridgid contrast to my warm blanket and hot drink.
 I couldn't help looking at everything and saying as God did, "It is good." 
Only my voice had a touch of wonder in it, 
 while His had only satisfaction. 
So many days are spent chasing obligations and deadlines and paycheques
 and nothing special seems to stand out worth remembering.
 But lockdowns and quarantines and five such minutes in my living room alone
 simply me and God, just being still and truly seeing, truly appreciating,
 are worth a lifetime of chasing.

It was written by me, but inspired by a devotional I recently read by Susan Lenzkes. It was a real experience but captured again as I read her words and tried to apply them to myself. As most of you know, my #wordoftheyear for 2022 is “magic”, so I have begun to actively seek out the moments of wonder and awe. To appreciate the little things. Facebook memories of my kids a hundred years ago. So cute all decked out for a Sunday morning service. Knowing we are safe and financially secure for the start of another year. Hating lockdowns and school online, but thankful that technology allows us education and the ability to connect with others. Full bellies. Warm houses and clean water.

So much we take for granted. So many wishes for this or that. I am reminded that life is really, really fragile. Tiny humans are born completely dependent. Many return to that state of complete dependence as we age. Time is not our friend. This fallen world and all the “bad” that is in it makes me wonder: “Why on earth?”

For some reason, Psalm 8 has been popping up in my world all this week. If you have time, look it up. David wondered “Why on earth?” too. I love learning about the idiosyncracies of this fabulous planet we live on. And all the creatures that share it with us. How inventive is our God who created every living thing? Yes, even one small virus who has the ability to mutate and change and manipulate an entire population of beings. He is in control, my friends! But it makes me wonder, like the psalmist, if God is in control of the big things like the universe and all the small things like corona viruses, then “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Somehow, He thinks we are worth it.

He looked at us, feeble humans, a little lower than the heavenly beings, and decided these made-from-dust creatures were worth loving and dying for. That you were worth dying for. That I was worth loving. Oh, the weight of those things! Wonder – full.

My wish for you and I this week is that we continue to be blessed in that realization. That we continue to seek for and see the wonder that is before us, behind us, and all around us. Will you join me as I look for it? Until next week, my friends!