Today’s tip from The Generous Wife suggests choosing a word or phrase to focus on for the new year.  Kind of a theme, a motto if you will, to base the year upon. Off the top of my head I thought of lots of potential words like Nap, Skinny, Redecorate, lol!!! I have a feeling dh has words that are even dearer to his heart.  Words like Budget, Tidy, and Football.  But no, they felt words like Peace, Family, and Patience were more appropriate. ; )

Seriously, this seems like a stellar idea.  A few tips back they suggested mapping out a vision for the year, an idea which dh loved. We have been talking about what we want to accomplish on the ranch, given that there is more to do than we can ever hope to do in a year, such as landscaping or building a new barn, installing gutters, putting up electric fencing, resurfacing the road to the house, etc. Choosing among these ventures helps us to know where to begin.

Choosing a theme for our relationships and personal goals is a wise endeavor as well. If you have seen the Home Depot commercial where the whole family is searching for the resolution list you know what usually happens to those.  Picking a focus word makes it harder to forget. A single word such as Family can help a father choose rightly when debating about bringing home more work from the office or playing a board game with the children. A word like Patience can help a parent respond gently when faced with grumpy toddlers. Words like Fortitude can help children persevere when its March and the school year seems never ending.

So what word would you choose?