2026 Word of the Year
Hmm. I have a sad history with my words of the year. I love choosing them, and get all excited about my new word, but by February I’ve forgotten all about it. As the year goes on and other people refer to their words, I’m constantly thinking “WHAT was my word, again?” Maybe I’m just not a “word of the year” person? But… it’s time for Tuesday Topics (which I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs) and today’s topic is, What’s your word or intention for 2026? Guess I better come up with something! I started by thinking about my intention for the year. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been ruminating a lot lately, to the detriment of my sleep, and brooding about things that are beyond my control, such as choices my kids are making. Maybe my phrase for the year could be the amazingly original “Let It Go.” But… this is a big year for me! I turn 60, and I kind of want to do more than just let things go. Is there a word that means both “Let it Go” and “Make it Happen?” Um… no. As I pondered this, I thought of the serenity prayer, “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Is there a word that embodies serenity, courage, AND wisdom all at the same time? There’s only one way to find out… I put the question to ChatGPT. Meh. It gave me some words, but none I liked- “Fortitude”, “Stoic”- they gave off the wrong vibe, kind of like “things are bad but I’ll get through it somehow.” Not the intention I want to set for the year. I thought about it some more, and then asked ChatGPT “Is there a word for ‘acceptance’ that’s less passive?” There were several suggestions! My favorite was “embrace.” I looked up the dictionary definition of the word: 1) hold close in one’s arms, and 2) accept or support a belief, theory or change willingly and enthusiastically.” I HAVE MY WORD! EMBRACE First of all, I’ll have a brand new family member to hold close in my arms. When I wrote about my son’s engagement, Engie wrote a beautiful comment all about her mother-in-law, and what a wonderful person she was. I want my daughter-in-law to feel the same way about me, and to feel welcomed and embraced into the family. There will be a lot of changes coming up- not only my son’s wedding, but with my daughter as well. She’ll go to college (in the fall of 2027) and it will be the biggest shakeup of the family structure since she was born. My intention will be to “accept change willingly and enthusiastically.” I had a lot of fun choosing my word- I love words and taking a deep dive into their meanings. Now I just need to remember my word throughout the year! I’m writing it on each monthly page of my planner, so I’ll revisit it often. Join us next week —> How do you reset your routine after the holidays? Link Up With Tuesday Topics Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts! Top photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter