Word of the year 2010...

I think I am ready to post about my word of the year for 2010; nine months is a long time to wait. But it is so personal and touched me on a level I hadn't really expected this year.

I started choosing a word of the year to help me move beyond the past and look ahead. I had so many years behind me that I had started off hoping to be a better mom and wife, make a new focus on our finances, get in shape, and many other goals, and so often the year would pass without much personal growth occurring in my life.

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So when I learned about the process of picking one word, I would lose the list of things I wanted to change, and instead narrow them down to one word. A word to focus on during the year that would help inspire me and create a vision for my year ahead.

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I have taken a couple of months pondering a new word since I started this process, and 2010 was no different... I had a few I was throwing around in my head in October and November (I typically think clearest during the fall anyway). And in December I made a trip to SC to see my brother and grandmother, and I found a charm in a local hardware store (of all places) that said "Fly"!

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It struck me and I really liked it. Thinking about one of the big events that were approaching for 2010, the teenagers graduation, it seemed like I was facing a new season in my life.

I was a step closer to an empty nest.

What would my life look like when he moved on and I didn't have the same daily focus?

At first those thoughts could be sad, but I tried to look beyond and see the opportunity for my marriage and for myself. It was a time I could learn to develop my talents, work on self improvement, focus on my relationships... "FLY"... it summed it up perfectly for me personally!

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So I bought the charm and put it on my necklace right away.

It was different from the rest, but this was a different year than the rest too.

I liked that it symbolized that change.

But I needed to wear it, I needed to own it. I was not sure if I could live up to the lofty expectations such a word would carry?

I could not just let the year go by without getting off the ground.

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So I didn't want to put it in writing until I had time to internalize it. Time to own it and an really come up with some ways to FLY!

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The first 3 months of the year it was painful, I had either forgotten what my big goals were in life, or they had changed and I needed to find new things to set my sights on. I had no ideas? A few hobbies to look into, but nothing that would really help me FLY!

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With my new word, I was reminded of when I first started dating Jim... I had started taking flying lessons to get a pilots license in California. When I got pregnant with Jacob, I decided I should be responsible and keep myself grounded... so I stopped and I never went back and got my license.

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I am not sure if I still want or need to, I am exploring that in my heart again.

But I have always loved the idea! I LOVED flying. It is very different in a small plane, than in a commercial jet. I love to drive by the local airport, I get to see it all the time on my way to one of my clients offices.

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And I have noticed that since I chose my word... I have had many many reminders that

I CAN FLY! Those feelings of being passionate about something that I love!

Achieving something outside of my box.

I wanted to feel that way again!!

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Here are just a few of the reminders I began to receive....

I often have my camera with me... but not turned on and ready to go.

I drive by this airport at different times, on different days and it is not a busy airport.
There are so many for lease signs on the hangers and buildings that surround it... I often wondered if it would not operate much longer.

The first month after I chose my word of the year, as I spent much time pondering what and if I could do to get out of my box and do good things again? Could I find something that would help me grow?

It was during this first month that I saw a plane or helicopter taking off or landing every single time I drove by.

It was neat at first.... it always made me think of the time I was learning to fly. It was scary and exciting, I had to learn and study things I didn't know I had the capacity to know.

But I loved it... these sightings brought back so many encouraging thoughts, that I could achieve great things, if I had the desire.

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Then over the next month, more sightings...

Then I began to keep my camera on the seat when I would drive by...
And more and more sightings.... some far away, and you could hear the planes engine approaching from so far away until it came into view... On dark cloudy or windy days when it didn't seem like the perfect time to take a plane up... or bright sunny days when it did...

The blue sky seems so endless...
I began to have an understanding in my heart, I can achieve anything I can dream...

I can FLY!

And the confirmation came from God! I feel badly it took soooo many flights for me to realize it was HIM, but I finally got it one day when I heard a plane, but never could see it... I found this rainbow instead.

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So over the past nine months pondering my word... I am learning, I am learning allot about myself. I am learning that just like I did not just get in a plane and FLY... I have to learn to more about lift and drag in my life... you can't just say it and it happens; but if I am patient and persistent, there will be flight at the end of the runway!

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I found the kite photo from my header, a while back, and it was a beautiful reminder for me to FLY.

I love kites! I really loved how in this photograph, there were many all tied together.

It may not be in an airplane again... I don't know if it will be with a career, or in a hobby, or in my relationships or with my health, or in many areas of my life, but this year, I am going to FLY!