Word of the Year

I may be a little late to the game, but I finally wrapped my head around this idea of choosing a word to focus on in this new year. At first, I thought the idea was bonkers -- how can one word encompass all my goals and ideas for the next 12 months? I guess when you are struck with the right word, it can.

So, last night while I was getting our girls ready for bed and thinking about the next few weeks and months ahead of us (more on that later -- we're preparing for a long-distance move), the word wellness came to mind. The idea of wellness has been at the forefront of my thoughts for some time, more focused on doing and being better instead of trying to be "healthy" for vanity purposes or only in the short-term.

My idea of wellness going forward means working toward bettering myself and my family physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually so we can rest assured we can enjoy each other and new adventures with joyful hearts and healthy bodies.

I gather that this wellness word of the year thing is kind of like setting a goal, so there are a few things I want to share that I'm using to help us be well.

Physically:

Over the past few months, I've been researching and testing all kind of different ideas and plans focused on eating as nutritiously and "whole food focused" as possible. I'm over the dieting thing and do not want to pass any weird food phobias to our daughters (#girlmom), so I want to teach them from the get-go that healthy, colorful, nutrient-rich foods are both delicious and necessary to be well. Personally, I have learned a ton from Kelly Leveque's book Be Well By Kelly which outlines how our bodies process food and why certain foods make us feel good or bad, hungry in 20 minutes, etc. It's awesome and packed with tons of practical advice and recipes. I am moving toward making her Fab Four smoothies every morning for breakfast.

Another game-changer for me as been a course I took by local food and meal planning expert Allie Peach. She is a mama of young kids, busy with work, and super relatable. Her message is "Empowering women to cook real food at home". I took her meal planning course in October and use the knowledge I gained d a i l y -- seriously every single day. I am working toward cooking our meals with veggies, fruits, lean meat, good carbs, and healthy fats while relying less and less on anything prepackaged or artificial. I am seeing more and more that eating real food makes you feel better and provides so many health benefits.

Mentally & Emotionally:

Wellness in the mental and emotional sense is mostly for my benefit. As a mama of twin two-year-olds, my mind and emotions are stressed daily. Our girls are the greatest joy in my life and I love them with every ounce of myself, but GOOD LORD do they test me! I know you get it. The climbing, repeating requests, hearing "no" dozens of times each day, and just keeping up with their energy is taxing. I need a breather and need to do something that challenges my mind and lets me feel emotions in other ways.

I am really going to be focused on improving and building this blog throughout the year. I have SO much to learn and do, but I can't wait to try. I have ideas that feel like they are going to explode from my mind and heart, and I will share everything with you -- good and bad. Writing, learning, and doing this for myself is going to help my mind and heart be well this year. So important for a mom and wife!

Spritually:

We gotta get back to church. It was a goal of mine last year, and it just didn't happen. I pray daily and while not super-public about my religious beliefs, they are important to me and important to both my husband and me in how we raise our girls. In addition to getting back into a church routine, which always centers and comforts me, I think doing things that are good for the soul are also included in spiritual wellness. What feeds your soul? Do you know? I'm not sure I do. Writing does for sure, and so does time with dear friends and family, but I can't help but feel there is something else I can be doing for my spiritual self. I'll keep y'all posted on that part.

So, there you go. Wellness is the word of the year for me. I urge you to join me and use this as your focus this year too. Also, I'd love to hear how you're working to find wellness this year too!