50 Posts and One Word

It’s hard to believe I’ve hit the milestone of 50 posts. With two kids, minimal sleep, and a barely any babysitting hours, it’s no short of a miracle, really.

So, what to write for this post? Should I talk about preparing Bunky for the next time she (inevitably) gets glutened? Hmm, that’s kind of a downer. How about something more upbeat, like a review of Better Batter’s awesome brownie mix? We ate nearly the whole pan in one day. (And would’ve finished it if I hadn’t hidden the last few pieces.)

This photo was taken minutes after it was baked.

I think for the 50th post something a little more personal is in order.

Recently I came across a blog called One Word, and the idea is to pick one word and live with it for a year. Meditate on it, journal about it, whatever. Basically let the word and its many meanings sink into your life, and perhaps change it.

As a writer and a word lover, this intrigued me. But I felt like it would be impossible to choose one word out of millions. Then it came to me.

And in a way, it actually fits with the original theme of this blog, which was to nourish Bunky back to health. I began writing about celiac and the challenges it posed for my family because that’s how I deal with stuff. I write. Before I had kids I was a writer. I got my MFA in Creative Fiction. I wrote a novel for my thesis, but short stories were my mainstay. Then I had kids, and well, I stopped.

When I started this blog, I sometimes wondered if I should have been using all those stolen minutes to work on my fiction instead. Why was I spending my super limited time writing about what I was living and breathing (sometimes ad nauseum) every day? But over time I realized that the blog was actually nourishing me. I was not only finding support and friends, but I started feeling like a writer again.

So this year, if I manage to stick with this One Word plan, I would like to continue nourishing my children, finding nourishment from this space, but also extend the definition further. I’d like to make a concerted effort to carve out babysitting time to work on my fiction, not just run errands and bake gluten free muffins.

Basically, it’s time for me to nourish the crap out of myself. And my husband, too, poor guy.

What word would you pick for yourself this year?