Hello, Friend,
I am not writing an essay about my favorite president today. I will simply say this. Jimmy Carter was the finest human to ever hold the office of president. The world is a fundamentally better place for him having been in it and a little less bright with his departure. In a world full of malignant narcissists, be a Jimmy Carter.
His is the definition of a life well lived.
It’s that heady time when we reflect on what has passed and contemplate what lies ahead. This is the first year in many that I’m not ready to drop kick in the ass with a steel toed boot and swing the door wide open to usher in the new. I know there are some folks who are excited about what’s to come, but I’m afraid the level of FAFO next year may be record setting. Regardless of how we feel about what might be lurking in the shadows, we’re here in this moment and we must gather our resolve and move forward.
This leads me to my word of the year.
For many years, my husband and I spent New Year’s Eve writing Life Maps and tucking them into a paper mache hat box that was filled with an array of words hand written on slips of paper. On New Year’s Day, we’d close our eyes, rummage around in the box, and randomly select a word to guide us forward. Eventually we realized the words were a bit obtuse and the effort it took to create our Life Maps a bit excessive. Also, quite frankly, reading all of the things that we didn’t accomplish due to life intervening was a major bummer. After some consideration, we dialed the groovy back a skootch and now I mindfully select a word that has personal resonance to carry into the coming year and Mr. Potter does his own thing.
Insert drumroll…my word for 2025 is tenacity.
I share the 411 on how and why I chose this word this year in today’s Mornings with Madge video selection above (though I imagine it’s fairly clear to anyone who’s paying attention to the pending chaos.) I was thinking it might be fun if those of us who pick a word for the year share them and the stories behind them in the comments. After all, words can conjure all manner of things. Let’s cast a spell of good magic and take the leap into the new year together!
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