2022 Word of the Year

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Last June, I bought a bracelet. Since becoming a mom, I honestly hadn’t purchased many things specifically for myself. Sure, I’d purchased nursing bras and a few outfits that fit my postpartum body, but other than the necessities (and to be clear, I do consider equipment to allow me to workout at home a necessity), most of what I purchased for myself was “mom-stuff.”

I’m not sure “mom-stuff” is really a word or phrase that can be looked up in a dictionary or researched on google, but you know what I mean, right?

It’s the stuff you need to make your life a little less insane as a mom. Yes, I need organizing bins to keep my toddler’s toys in check. Rolling cart to create a mobile diaper changing station? Absolutely. Silicone baking cups, popsicle molds, and good cake pans may feel like a kitchen splurge… but they were all purchases that had something to do with the toddler. Hence, “mom-stuff.”

But the bracelet? That was for me.

Last December I chopped 14 inches off my hair. Yes. You read that right. 14 inches. (Yes, I donated it)

On my way to pay for my haircut, something inside me woke up. Something needed to change. While it was probably the massive change in hair length that was the trigger, the knowledge that something was just a bit off had been floating around the back of my head for a while.

But what was it?

After a good amount of soul-searching, praying, and chatting with my people I realized what was a bit off was… me. It wasn’t that something was off. I was off.

As I started to consider my world for 2022, I seriously considered align. But again, there was something about it that didn’t quite convey what I was looking for. That, and I had a strange feeling with posting a word that also made me think of digestive health all over my world for a year.

I considered words like strength, confidence, and worthy. But when it came down to it, I realized all of these words had one thing in common. Which is why my 2022 word of the year is connect.

CONNECT

“to bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established”

This. This is what I want. This is what I need. This is what I crave.

Connection. To connect.

  • I want to connect with friends that I’ve lost touch with because of the double-whammy of new baby and pandemic happening at the same time

  • I want to connect with new friends now that I’m in a new phase of life

  • I want to connect to my inner strength that I’ve been neglecting as I’ve waded through the past almost two years

  • I want to re-connect to my teachings; about dealing with overwhelm, slowing down, relationships, motivation, and more

  • I want to re-connect with my personal happiness commandments

  • I want to re-connect to me as a person and a mom, not just a mom

  • I want to connect. I want connection.

I realize that it’s not going to be easy. I’m will have to be flexible (ha! Thanks 2021) in my approach to some of these things. It’s not January 2020 where we didn’t have to remember new guidelines every time we walked out the door. There may be more zoom or FaceTime instead of in-person get togethers than I’d like, but it’s better than nothing.  Because nothing leads to disconnect. And this year, I’m all about connection.

Here’s to a new year. A year of joy, happiness, love… and connection. Happy 2022.