Stay

Every new year I choose a word to represent my intention for the year ahead. My word for 2024 is Stay. What is ironic about it is that we just sold our condo and bought a new home! So I guess we are not exactly staying here, but I do intend to stay in our new home and delve more into my homebody side there. Another reason for focusing my energy into staying home is the basic practicalities of not being able to afford travel and excursions all too much with the significantly larger mortgage and house payments that we will be taking on.

I always like to choose a word that is both a noun and a verb. 

As an action I intend to do the following:

• Stay home and enjoy the simple day-to-day routines and activities with my family.
• Stay local, explore and get our bearings within our new neighbourhood in Kanata.
• Stay sober and in recovery as I continue in my ninth year of sobriety.
• Stay in my emotions and try my best to fully process them as I am going through them, in order to get to a place of understanding myself and others as we go through conflict and challenges.
• Stay present- a forever challenge of mine. This in particular with my son, staying present to him at the end of the day when my instinct is to check out and scroll through social media or watch a TV show. Being more intentional about setting aside my devices and being present to him as his plays with his toys and comes in for a cuddle.
• Stay connected to my Higher Power, continue to hand my will over to Her when I confront challenges in my day whether they be within recovery or simply dealing with my ongoing anxieties about life.
• Stay grounded, which might look like taking more opportunities in my day to get into my body and plant my feet firmly on the ground.
• Stay active which is very simple in the sense of getting out for walks when I can during my work week, and moving my body in some form. But not overdoing it, as I have a tendency to want to see results quickly and then burn myself out with workout regimens that are just not sustainable for me and my current lifestyle.
• Stay grateful and remind myself of all that I have to be grateful for. This is a practise I want to get back into as I tend to put a lot of energy into wanting and planning for the next phase and/or item that I suddenly believe I need. Whether it be a new pair of the perfect jeans or a promotion at work, my mind is forever searching for that next thing while also maintaining a solid distance from gratitude. Practising gratitude is a healthy way of creating distance from that insatiable desire for more.

In our new home and my company, I hope to create a beautiful place to stay. I intend for it to be a place of comfort, calm and warmth. I hope that this home becomes a relaxing stay for friends and family who come over. A stay for them to sit back and enjoy connection, food, drink and love. I want my son to feel joyful and at ease in his new home, where he can run around in the backyard and explore. 

While I am anxious about all of the upcoming expenses that the new home will bring, I am, more than ever, excited and ready to settle into our new home.

Our new home!

How blessed I am to have such a beautiful place to stay. 😊