My One Little Word

Have any of you ever read Ali Edwards' blog? She's a lovely woman who is inspired to scrapbook the everyday stories of life. I read her blog regularly, and love to keep up with her musings and her family's everyday life. She started this thing a while back where she chooses a word a year to focus on. The word is a goal, something to focus on, a reminder of your hopes for the year.

My word this year is content.

Content? You may be confused by this word. Content, doesn't that indicate stagnancy? Are you saying you have no goals Emily? No, not at all, in fact it's the opposite. Instead, as I work toward long-term goals, I want to be content with where I am. I want to be fully content with where Erik and I are in our marriage, in our life. With being content, it means stopping and appreciating the great blessings already in my life.

In September one of my good friend's Dan asked me on my birthday what my goals and dreams were for the next year of my life. I answered that this was a transitional year. An in-between year, a year with things happening that help contribute to our bigger goals. This is all good; Erik and I have some great long-term goals. But, we also have some great things happening this year. I went home after speaking with Dan and decided I want to remember to enjoy this year, not just live for the future.

Currently this is our life. Erik is in grad school for counseling, I'm in grad school for literacy education. Our Sundays are full of homework and reading. We continue to live in our one bedroom duplex, saving for a house in the future. We want a dog, but that has to wait at least a few more months. Grad school makes it so we're not always home in the evening. We're still waiting on kids, waiting for the house, for the dog, for grad school to be done. I worry about money in the future. Is it ok that we both chose to be educators? Will the salaries be ok for our future?

But, why just wait wondering about the future? Erik is currently rocking at his counseling internships, doing some amazing work this year as an intern for some kids who need a lot of love. Erik won a scholarship, making things a bit easier for the future. I'm teaching 21 great third graders who are becoming better writers, stronger math students, and asking great questions about the world in which we live. Erik and I like our work, and it feels purposeful. Erik and I have our lovely one bedroom duplex, situated one block from a lake, with beautiful woodwork, and cute architectural features. We have amazing friends and family who we see on a regular basis. Erik and I have each other. We have no dogs to run home to, no daycare bills to pay, no one begging for our attention when our work day is done. We can sit and watch Netflix with a drink in hand, and that's so great. Our current life is awesome.

There's so much to be grateful for in the moment. We have the now, and no one can predict or guarantee the future. So why dwell on what is to come? The future will come in time. And though I have worries, I'm also excited for our future plans. We've prepped what we can for the future. We've bought the insurance, taken on more school, and thought about our future goals. But I can't forget to be content with the now, the present. The present is oh so good, and I want to take it all in. So here's to contentment in 2015!

Any words you're thinking about this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts.