Last year I met a lot of different people who had their own Word of the Year – a word that they were focusing on for an entire year as a self improvement effort. I’ve been thinking for the last few weeks what I’d want my Word of the Year 2012 to be. I finally figured it out.

Present

Since Joseph’s birth, it has become increasingly clear to me just how quickly time passes. What’s that saying… The days are long but the years are short? So true. Often my days can drag on, yet I still have a sense of holding sand in my hand, the time is fleeting. Frankly, I don’t do a great job of always being present with my kids. Sure, I am with them, but not always present both in body, mind and heart. This is something I want to work on this year.

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But “being present” isn’t a very good goal as it doesn’t have any defined boundaries or standard. I’ve decided to make a “being present” goal for each month in 2012. January’s goal? Board games. The girls both got board games for St. Nick Day and we’re going to put them to good use this month. My plan? Board games twice a week. Might not seem like a big goal, but I’m trying to be realistic and set an achievable bar.

Here’s to fun games of Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land this January!