Happy New Year to everyone! Instead of committing to a specific resolution, I've been using the #OneWord format to help me focus on my goals for the calendar year. These are my past words:
2016 = continue
2017 = forgive
2018 = seek
2019 = enough
2020 = push
2021 = well
2022 = watch
2023 = lift
2024 = savor
Savor was the perfect word for 2024. I did a lot of travelling last year and made a point of enjoying those experiences away. I documented these trips with specific scrapbooks and lots of photos, reliving and savoring the memories by recording my thoughts and photographing my moments. Thanks to a pilgrimage to Fatima, my religious practices have been jumpstarted and are improving. I also reinforced the food portion of the word by indulging in some of my favourite meals at more-expensive restaurants at the close of the year (by visiting The Captain's Boil, Chako, and Mandarin, all within a ten-day span!).
For 2025, I was inspired, as I often am, by a homily a priest gave during the Christmas season, as well as some personal needs that I saw had to be addressed. I toyed with various words that (hello Science of Reading and direct phonics instruction!) use the "re" prefix. After a while, I decided on this word:
refresh
Why refresh? What do I hope to accomplish with this focus? I don't have any big adventures planned for this year. (I can't afford to travel like I did in 2024 on a regular basis!) However, I don't want to just "go through the motions" or "rest on my laurels". I can look at things I'm already doing, and do them in a slightly altered, possibly better way.
I realized that I was on the right track after having my two dear friends, Wendy and Kim, come over for dinner last Thursday. After we dined on homemade lasagna (thank you James!), my friends took a look at my current Fluevog collection. Kim taught me how to shine or polish my patent and/or leather shoes. Wendy taught me how to swap out my laces and thread them properly to give my shoes a new look. Check out the difference that new laces and a fresh polish can make!
It's amazing how a simple refresh can improve things. Besides my shoes, there are other things I want to reinvigorate, such as my lesson plans for teaching my ESL students. I am definitely not a "worksheet" sort of teacher, but I realize that it's not what I want, but what my students need, that should dictate the direction I take. I'm tinkering with my ESL schedule and approach for 2025, to update things and provide it with strength and energy. My principal is keen to make some physical upgrades to the school library learning commons, so I should lean into this planned refresh of the space. In 2025, I need to moisturize more and refresh my skin.
This is not to say that 2025 will be dull. I've got the OLA Super Conference (with Treasure Mountain Canada) as well as the OTF Curriculum Forum to look forward to, as well as new duties associated with my volunteer stint with Canadian School Libraries. As I wrote in some of my thank-you cards for the Christmas gifts I received, "may 2025 bring you joy and success".
