Susan Writes

A few days into 2014 and so far, so good.  I’d thought about New Year’s resolutions, but hadn’t made any yearlong commitments.  I’d just keep on keeping on and try to make better choices.  Try to eat good food.  Drink more water.  Exercise more.  Not waste time.

And then my niece posted a question on Facebook, a question that she’d heard discussed on a morning television talk show.  What one word would you choose to motivate yourself through 2014?  A word flashed in my brain and I immediately posted a comment.  Intentional – that’s my word.  Intentional with minutes, hours, and days.  With prayer and praise.  With a positive attitude.  Intentional when I eat and drink.  When I play and work.  When I spend money.  When I write and read and see and hear.  Intentional.

It felt good to have a plan, all wrapped up in one word.  And that day went as intended.  With ceremony, I ate a piece of Christmas dried apple stack cake and drank a perfect cup of coffee.  I watched the chickadees and cardinals peck seed from our birdfeeder.  Throughout the day, I consciously followed my intentions.

That night was weekly family supper night at our house and afterwards one Grand would stay overnight.  The next morning would be Grand and Gran time.  Except this night, two Grands would spend the night.  Lou, age 6, and Elaine, her 2 ½ year old sister.  Lou would sleep in the bed where she always sleeps at our house.  Elaine would sleep in a crib in the same room.  We’d eat breakfast and play.  Puzzles, painting, play dough.

At midnight as I lay awake between Elaine and Lou in Lou’s bed, I realized that my plan had gone haywire.  Elaine had climbed out of her crib three times and I decided, while half asleep, that she and I should sleep with Lou.  We slept, but not well.

While we ate breakfast, Lou asked, “Gran, do you have a bathing suit here for Elaine?”  I didn’t.  “Well, do you think this is a good day to swim at the Y?”  I didn’t.  Then Lou said, “I really wanted to practice diving underwater,” and I couldn’t say no to a morning swim.

Forget the puzzles, paint, and play dough, we were going swimming on a cold January day.  An hour later, after we’d brushed hair and teeth and packed towels and dry clothes and gone to Elaine’s house to get her bathing suit and the three of us wore our bathing suits, we stood at the edge of the Y swimming pool.  Lou said, “Watch me go to the bottom, Gran!”  She jumped into the swimming pool and picked up a diving rocket from the bottom of the 4 1/2 foot deep pool.  She stood and stretched her hand that held the rocket high over her head.  Elaine and I clapped and cheered.  “Way to go, Lou!”  I said.

At that moment, a word flashed in my brain.  Flexible – another word for 2014.

Intentional in play.  Flexible to change from puzzles, paint, and play dough to swimming.  Intentional to eat dried apple stack cake.  Flexible to change to a chocolate covered cream-filled donut.  Intentional and flexible.  I need two words for 2014.

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Filed under: Everyday Life, Grandchildren, Writing | Tagged: flexible, intentional, New Year's words, one word |