My One Word for 2013....Mindful

I happened upon a really neat website last year called My One Word.  The premise is rather than making  new year resolutions (which most everyone breaks!) why not choose one word upon which you can base your life activities  schedules, etc for the next 12 months.  Last year I picked the word PURPOSEFUL because I felt like much of my time was being wasted doing....ummm, gosh where did all my time go?  Well, that was the point.  So, I decided I needed to be more purposeful in the use of my time so that whatever I did I wouldn't look back and wonder why I whittled away so many precious hours.  Did I succeed?  Certainly not 100%, but I do think I was more aware of how I was spending my days.  2013 rolled around just a few weeks ago and I decided I wanted to try this one word focus for another year.  My one word this time around is MINDFUL.
 The definition of mindful  is' being attentive to or aware of'   I think I like this word so much because I don't want to simply get through the day, wake up and start all over again. As we saw from the tragedy in Connecticut last month, our lives can be dramatically changed in a split second.  Even on slow days of doing laundry or grocery shopping (or any other mundane task I might do) I want to be mindful of the blessings of a family to wash clothes for and cook for, and money to be able to buy those groceries.   I also want to be more mindful of my husband's emotional needs, as well as those of the rest of my family.  I want to be mindful of the precious short time I have left with my children before they fly the coop.  
 2013 is a year filled with many milestones for me:  I turn 50 in July, celebrate 20 years of marriage in September, and my son turns 18 in March and graduates from high school in June.    If milestones like that don't force me to be more mindful of the passage of time, then nothing will!!  
The picture I posted today is one of many that our children had taken as part of their Christmas gift to us.  For some reason, this is the one that just touches my heart so much.  There are no smiling faces. no sparkling eyes, no close up views.  In fact, there are NO faces even showing in this photograph of  four of the most special people in the world to me.  And, yet, this reminds me of how fleeting this life is and how my children, though still close in my heart,  now begin the stage in their lives where I will be on the outside looking in as they look forward to charting their own course in life. But, I love they they are facing the future together--four individuals for sure--but  siblings who will be there for each other no matter what may come along.  
Oh, yes. It's going to be a good year.  And being mindful (and aware of ) all the special --and bittersweet--moments as they happen will make it an even better year.

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