I have a lot of hopes and dreams for you, 2021. So much so that I am hesitant to write them down or share them out loud. I mean, we all know how crazy and completely unexpected 2020 was and we’re all pretty ready for a new start – a new year entirely. And I’m no different. Although 2020 wasn’t the worst year of my life, it did bring about some unexpected challenges and trials that I wish to be moved on from and over forever. But I digress.
I know that this year will bring about change, and lots of it. Some of it personally and some of it professionally. Some of it mentally, and some of it physically. I told you, 2021, this girl has some big hopes and dreams for you! And while I logically know and completely understand that not all of them will come to fruition exactly as I’ve pictured or hoped, I want to take each and every step of this year with one thing in focus: joy.
joy/joi/noun
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness; delight
I want to walk through this year looking and searching for the joy, holding it tightly and embracing it with every twist and turn 2021 takes. The ups and downs are completely out of my control, but I can choose to find joy in every aspect. Because there’s always joy if you just take the time to look for it.
That’s what I want for this year as a whole. I want joy.
I want to find the joy and bottle it up as each day unfolds. Yes, even the hard days. I know it won’t always be easy and that some days I won’t want to look for it, not even caring to see it. But I’m determined to do it anyway. When I’m sad, I’ll look for joy anyway. When I’m angry and beyond frustrated, I’ll seek joy anyway. When I’m heartbroken and all feels hopeless, I’m hunting down the joy in even the smallest way. I’m doing it anyway.
Every year throws curveballs and I just expect them at this point in my life. From divorce, to living in an RV in another state, to living with my parents, long distance marriage, raising Landon without Cory more often than not – nothing has looked like or gone as I’d expected or hoped. None of it has been normal. So yeah, curveballs. Twists and turns that I never saw coming. And then there was 2020, which NO ONE was expecting, so honestly, 2021 is kind of a toss up. We don’t know what things are going to look like as this pandemic continues on in the world. We don’t know what new political leadership will bring. We don’t know if we’ll still be working from home or learning from home or wearing masks all year long. But what I do know is that I control how I react to any of those situations and more. I know what’s important in life, as my son shows me every.single.day. It’s joy. It’s family and love and health – and embracing each of those things even in small glimpses in the middle of complete chaos. It’s holding our loved ones close and laughing until we cry. It’s being silly and spinning in circles just because your child asked you to. It’s taking care of yourself in ways others may deem stupid or careless. It’s in the little things.
So, joy.
2021 is my year of joy – I’m calling it now.
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