I’m not one for resolutions. I used to be. When I was younger, I’d look at the new year as a time to overhaul everything. Change myself, my routines, and try to make myself better than I was.
There’s something to be said for grabbing and holding on to that kind of motivation when it comes. But as I age, I’m learning that maybe the winter season isn’t the time for that.
For a few years, I let go of setting hard-and-fast resolutions. Instead, I spend time looking ahead, envisioning the kind of person I want to be a year from now. What I discover leads me to an overarching word, a word I return to throughout the year.
Saying Goodbye to 2025
Part of looking forward includes looking back, and 2025 was a tough year.
In the first half of the year, we got to know our new town after an international move. It took time, but eventually we found some friends to hang out with regularly (a blessing, for sure).
In the spring, we walked through a health scare for me. Mercifully, we were given the all clear and assurance that this is now just a part of who I am. But the two weeks of the unknown left us all feeling a bit tender.
Then, to end the year, my dad died somewhat unexpectedly.
So, suffice it to say that a large piece of me isn’t sad to see 2025 in the rear view.
But looking back, even with all the stresses and changes 2025 brought, I can see how we were provided for. Especially in the last two months or so with my dad. His decline in health was somewhat sudden, but I was lucky enough to get to spend a week with him before he passed. He was awake and alert. Family came into town, and he got to see my kids. We were all with him, and he got to go out on his own terms.
As end-of-life scenarios go, it was as tender and loving as we could have hoped for.
My Why for 2026
Watching my dad in his last few days, I was keenly aware of how he was.
I moved out of my parents’ house in 2011, so it had been a while since I watched my dad move through the world. Other than family get-togethers (which had been hard to attend since we lived overseas for 6 years), I didn’t spend much time watching him interact with people.
Soaking in what I now knew was the last few days with my dad, I watched him. I saw how he spoke to his doctors and nurses. With each interaction, he thanked them for taking care of him.
Dad would regularly tell the staff how good they were at their job, or how much he appreciated them. He learned a bit about them and their lives. No one went unnoticed – even the cleaning and catering staff got some encouragement from Dad. (His regular cleaning lady stopped by the morning he died to say goodbye. There really isn’t a better illustration of his time in the hospital than that.)
2026 Word of the Year
In the past, I’ve chosen a word of the year. After 2020, that habit sort of fell off. But after the way last year ended, I’m feeling called to a recentering. A gentler, softer way of focusing my energy.
On New Year’s Eve, during the kids’ nap time, I escaped to my favorite local coffee shop with my journal. I jotted down a few things, some words that sounded like who I’d like to lean into becoming this year. And on my drive home, remembering my dad, I chose one.
Gratitude.
I settled here because it’s something deeper than just being thankful. I don’t want a temporary emotion. Instead, gratitude feels more permanent. A state of being rather than a response to an event.
I want 2026 to be the year I look for the good stuff, the year I change my brain from looking for the holes in a plan to just being grateful there’s a plan to begin with. I’d like to get better at stewarding the things we already have, including my free time.
So, here’s to starting off the new year small. If you’re a resolutions person, more power to you. Know that I am here, in your corner, praying and cheering for your success.
But if you need something else, something more subtle, maybe you’ll join me in choosing a word of the year. (I know it’s almost February. That’s the beauty of a word of the year. There is no timeline. You can pick one whenever; you’re never too late.)
Need Help Choosing Your Word?
In 2020, I wrote a short article on Elephant Journal about how I choose my word of the year. While this year was a little abbreviated, the idea holds true.
