Ugh. Today we’re taking down the Christmas decorations, which is probably my least favorite day of the entire year. I’ve mentioned before that I have trouble with endings, and Christmas is a big one.
Yesterday when I was moaning about this transition, my son pointed out that you have to end one thing before you can start another. I’m trying to look at this de-Christmas-ing of the house as a start and not an ending… because, not coincidentally, my word for 2022 is “Start.”
I know, it seems kind of obvious. It feels like I should have a more elevated, fancy word, like “Emerge” or “Achieve.” But when I was thinking about one-word themes, I kept coming back to “Start.” It’s a good word for January, but I think it will serve me well throughout the year. There are always things to start, and I like to remind myself of Mary Poppins’ line, “Well begun is halfway done.” Sometimes you just have to take that first step, or the first ornament off the tree, and then the task is on its way to completion.
I also think about the famous Arthur Ashe quote, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” In order to start where you are, you have to take a good, long look at your situation. If you’re going to pilot an airplane to New York, you have to know where you’re starting from. If you’re starting from Cleveland but you think you’re starting from Chicago, you’ll never get to New York.
So why is it so depressing to end Christmas? Why does regular life feel so blah? Should it feel this blah? Maybe I need to examine my work life, personal relationships, and leisure time activities to see where things are falling short.
Then, of course, there’s running. I spent all of 2021 wishing I were running faster and farther. I pushed things as much as I could, in between flare-ups of my ongoing foot issue. Getting sick at the end of the year, and the enforced rest, was almost a relief. I started up again by walking, and then running a mile. I’m determined to take things slowly while my foot gets used to the new orthotics. I’ll get to where I want to be, as long as I start exactly where I am.
So that’s my word for 2022! Throughout the year, if a task seems daunting, I’ll remind myself to take that one first step. And I’ll take some time to reflect on where I am, so I’ll know exactly where I’m starting from.
I’m linking with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics this week!
How about you? Do you have a word for 2022?
38 Responses
Start is the best word of the year that I’ve heard yet. We all need to put more weight on where we are now vs where we want to be – but also you’re allowed to feel bummed about taking the Christmas decorations down. I’m not ready to start taking ours down yet;-)
I didn’t want to take ours down, but it feels super depressing to me if they’re still up when the kids go back to school! I’m already looking forward to putting them back up next November.
That Arthur Ashe quote is one of my favorites! Start is a great theme for the year. (By the way I haven’t taken down our Christmas decorations yet either).
Well, I’m about halfway through getting them down. But starting was definitely the hardest part!
I think with everything you described, start fits perfectly! I think we like the Christmas season so much because there’s a joy there that may not be in our lives all year long. I think “Start” will be a great theme for your year!
Yes, you put it perfectly. There’s a joy in the Christmas season that isn’t there otherwise. I’d like to have ore joy year-round!
I love your word! Starting is so often the most daunting part of anything. I took down Christmas but left “winter” stuff during a marathon phone convo with my mom this morning. I’m feeling accomplished on that front! It’s a blah time of year but FWIW, spring has sprung already at Target. Haha!
Oh, I’m sure Target already has Easter stuff up! I’m not quite ready for spring at Target though, ha ha.
Start is a very appropriate choice of words 😉 I totally share in your disdain in de-Christmas’ing the house, but once I decided to remove the first ornament, it went better than expected. It just became a task, LOL. Good luck with your foot recovery and rallying back from Covid <3
Thank you Kim! I’m sure it was hard to “start” but getting all the Christmas stuff down so early was probably a relief for you!
I’m sort of on edge, waiting to hear how the orthotics work in the whole scheme of foot recovery. I broke my left leg rather spectacularly about ten years ago and then got plantar fasciitis in my “good” leg because I was obviously favoring it. It’s been an effort to find what works and I’m lingering rather impatiently (but not half as impatiently as you!) about how it’s going to work out!
Good luck with your word of the year!
Oh boy, plantar fasciitis is so frustrating. I think the most frustrating thing is that one person’s “miracle” cure doesn’t work for someone else. But, I do think there’s a cure for everyone. When mine is finally gone I’m going to write a post about it, but again, what worked for me may not work for everyone.
I love start where you are! Embracing that mindset can make things seem so much more doable.
We can’t really appreciate the highs without some lows, unfortunately.
And your son sounds really wise!
He is wise! I don’t know how he got wiser than me when he’s only 19, hrumph.
I did not pick a word for 2022, nor any other year, but I think you chose a great one! No matter where we are: learning a new skill, picking a hobby back up after not doing it for a while, or resuming a sport after an injury, we have to “start”. It’s perfect for you as start back into your running gradually to avoid injury, as you start back to work after Covid, and as you start life again just the three of you when your son goes back to school. We’re always starting!
I don’t usually pick a word either and am not sure why I did this year. It was just something I kept mulling over. Thanks for reminding me that when my son goes back to school, it’s a beginning as well as an ending. That helps!
You can leave your decorations as long as you can. 🙂 Starting is the most difficult thing to do but yet also the most important one. Without it we wouldn’t get anything done.
Ha, most of the decorations are down now. As always, starting was hard but now it’s a relief to have it over with.
What a great word, Jenny! I like it.
Life is full of starts. And re-starts. And re-re-starts. 🙂
But it’s important not to lose courage and just to keep at it.
Wishing you a lot of joy and happiness with STARTing out in 2022. Looking forward to following your progress!
Thank you Catrina! Happy New Year to you as well!
I think this was the first year I didn’t dread taking down the decorations. Well, I did at first, but once I started (see what I did there?), it was actually ok. We hosted Christmas for the first time and had such a nice holiday. I reflected on that as I put things away.
Start sounds perfect for 2022.
Ha ha, you embraced the “start”! I agree that it’s a little less painful to put things away if you can look back on the holiday with good memories.
Start is a great word, and I love your explanations. I really like the focus on starting (and accepting?) where you are and taking that first step.
Yes, accepting where you are is so important! I’ve really had to do it with my running this year, but it carries over into all aspects of life.
Start is a great word!
I agree about the decorations. I always HATE to see them come down; I know my Mom always used to talk about the relief of having the house back to order, but maybe it’s because I don’t decorate that much…I just love how cozy and warm it all feels. I’m still not ready to take the tree down – I usually wait until the kids go back to school and that has been delayed because of COVID. I think I’ll give it a few more days – maybe Sunday it will come down. I feel like I don’t want to handle this on a weekday…especially since I’m expecting our local news conference today to reveal that the kids are going to do at least of week of remote learning. Sigh. I’m actually feeling nauseous about hearing the news…and it hasn’t even happened yet, I can just sense it because of how the rest of the country to going (I live in Canada and basically all schools are switching to remote learning).
The one thing I did do this year was start taking things down in stages so while all the “big” stuff is still up, all the little knickknacks are down and stored away. I also feel like people are leaving their outdoor lights up extra late this year; I took the kids through some neighbourhoods yesterday that were still fully lit and I even played Christmas music while we went on our little tour.
Oh, that is such a bummer. As much as I love having my kids home during vacation, I know they don’t want to do remote learning. My daughter went back today and my son got news that his college will start normally (in mid-January.). What a relief!
Yes, taking things down in stages is a great idea- I decorate so much that it’s a huge pain to get it all down at once. If your kids are still home, it does seem cozier just to leave the tree up for a while longer. I hope you get good news today, or if not… well, good luck with it all.
My mom’s birthday is January 16th so we always keep up the Christmas decorations until then. Oddly I love this because it gives me 2 more weeks to enjoy all the festive decorations, lol.
I love your word for 2022. When you think about it, we all have to start somewhere when it comes to many things – fitness, jobs, relationships, etc. Taking the first step is always the start to something great.
Oh, I’m kind of jealous you have a reason to leave them up so long! Ours are down now and everything looks predictably blah.
Start is a great word. Everyday we have to face a different “start” and it’s not easy: we have to be predisposed and prepared to do our best.
Yes- at first I wondered if “start” was only good for January, but then realized it will work every day!
“Start” is a great word! Every day is a chance for a fresh start. I am sorry you’re feeling blah. I don’t mind taking down the Christmas stuff – it makes our house seem bigger! We have a small house, what can I say. But I know what you mean, the Christmas season is so fun and then…it can be a bit of a let-down for sure.
Luckily I’ve gotten over the “post Christmas hump”- our decorations and tree are down, and the house does feel nice, I have to admit. I love the Christmas stuff but it does start to feel a little cluttered.
Love it!! Start is a great word for the year! My word for this year is Fast. I’m spending a year working on my speed at shorter distances to prepare myself for hopefully being able to run a 50-miler in 2023 without having to worry about cutoffs (which I’m always chasing).
Ah, I love that word as well! I also want to get faster. Well, I always want to get faster. First I have to get my mileage back up, but then I’ll work on speed.
I haven’t picked my word for 2022 yet, but start is a GREAT word.
I mean, how often do we just have to get “started” on something and then everything falls into place.
Getting over that initial hump is always the hardest part, so having that word as a reminder in your head is probably going to serve you (and everyone else!) very well this year. Start… and then see what happens 🙂
Yes, it’s funny because I don’t usually choose a word, but now I see how powerful it is. It seems everywhere I turn there’s an opportunity to “start” or appreciate the power of beginning something.
I love the word start, especially with everything you went through the last few weeks of December!
I’m so weird about Christmas decorations, as I was ready to turn my apartment back to normal right after Christmas. I love, love, love having them up but once Christmas is over, I am just READY to take them down. I do it very slowly, though, so it takes a few days. But even though I de-Christmas early, I still have that Christmas sadness. January is usually a pretty lackluster month after all of the fun there was in December!
Yes, I always feel like there should be something fun in January, some holiday or something. The best we have is football playoffs but now that the Dolphins are out of it, it’s hard to get too excited.