my one word of 2014.

in 2013 i chose grow as my word of the year.  little did i know how very hard it was going to be to actually apply this word over 365 days.  i had expectations of growing fierce, growing this blog, growing strong and growing our little family.  what i wasn't expecting was how difficult this would be.  over the year there were times where i clung tightly to my growth as i tried my hands at new things and new ideas and new perspectives & other times clinging just as tightly, i'd come back, dirty, bruised and humbled by all that it meant to grow.  but looking back and reminiscing on all that was, i realized how much i did grow.  i grew in ways i didn't expect and in ways i never intended.  & that right there is why i continue to pick these words each year.

for 2014 i wanted another word just as empowering to guide me through the year.  so i chose embrace. 

as was the case with all my other words from year’s past, embrace found me.   it's not so much how it found me, but the state in which it found me.  after a moment of  discouragement, i had to step away from a situation and while i was badgering myself for silly, stupid, stuff- i realized i  had to stop, breathe, and embrace myself.  the very moment i spoke the word, i knew then and there what i needed to focus on in this new year.

unlike my last words, i'm hoping to do a better job documenting my progress as i find ways to fit embrace into my every-day life.  right now that concept doesn't seem like it’ll be that difficult, but as things change over the year- as they undoubtedly do- there will be times when embracing anything is the furthest thought in my mind.  and that my friends marks the beginning of a new adventure.

so today i'm embracing my life.  i'm embracing my past, my present & my right now.  i'm embracing my passions and dislikes, my body, my dreams, my commitments and responsibilities.  i'm embracing it all & looking forward to every minute of it.