The following idea was taken from my good friend Betsy (visit her blog here).
Starting December 1 (yes, I know I am a day behind already), Reverb10 will post a prompt on their website encouraging participants to reflect back on the year and then manifest on what the next year will bring (kind of like speaking it into being, I guess). You then respond to the prompt through your blog, a tweet, a photograph, or however else you so choose.
As quoted from the website, "The end of the year is an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead."
I figured I would try to commit to this. It couldn't be that hard. Of course, I might miss a few days due to a little thing called Labor and Delivery, but I can always catch up. ;) And besides, I do have a lot of reflecting to do. Maybe it will help me muddle through some of these knotted emotions.
Wish me luck!
December 1: One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)
One word to describe 2010 would be SURVIVAL. The definition of survival as given by Merriam-Webster is "the state or fact of continuing to live or exist especially in spite of difficult conditions." That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. This year has been full of just getting through. We learned that we had lost our first daughter on December 30, 2009 and she was born on December 31. January 1, 2010 was the first day of, not just a new year, but of learning to live with the greatest heartache. In the beginning, I took it one day at a time... sometimes an hour at a time. Then it became a month at a time. Survival for me is about learning. You learn new things in order to overcome processes which you thought worked in the past to guarantee your survival. I have learned that survival isn't just about doing things just to ensure you take your next breath and live to see another day. It is so much more. Survival means learning to love in a way I never thought possible. It means learning to laugh and let go no matter how much it might hurt my heart. It means learning to open my heart and shatter all the stereotypes. It means learning to share the life of a beautiful girl that was only here for a brief moment.
The one word that comes to mind for next year is REBIRTH. Our second daughter is due December 31... exactly one year after our first was born silent. I want next year to be filled with new life and growth as we learn to live with a new beautiful creation here on earth and a beautiful angel in heaven.
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