I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to be here. Actually, I wasn’t sure I was going to be here last week.

A couple of times over the last few months, I’ve thought about taking a break from blogging.

Between the baby and the rest of our lives, we don’t have a  lot of time for projects or home improvements, so I don’t feel like I have as much material to write about.

As well, sometimes blogging has felt like a luxury among all of the other ways I could be spending my time.

But obviously writing is important to me.

I love writing for the same reason that I love home improvements–they’re both creative outlets for me. While home improvement is a way for me to turn off my brain and not think for a little while, writing is a way for me to think more deeply, work through things and process parts of my life.

And these days, my brain feels very full.

So I’m here. And as I did last year, I’m going to start the year with a word to help guide me through 2019.

This year, my word is “slow.”

Since having Ellie, I’ve found that I’m often rushing. With a baby, I have a narrow window of naptime, or “she’s-content-playing-by-herself-but-this-won’t-last,” or “we-have-to-eat-dinner- bath-and-go-to-bed-before-she-gets-overtired.” So whatever I’m doing, I try to do it as fast as possible. I’d like to slow down and focus on what I’m doing.

As well, I want to remember that I don’t always have to be doing. Sure there are always things to do. But sometimes reading my book or sitting down with Matt and Ellie and Baxter is the thing I should do.

Scene from yesterday: I could take down the Christmas stockings. Or I could sit here with my feet up.

Life is short. Usually shorter than we want. Occasionally shorter than we can ever conceive. We have to do our absolute best to live a life that we are satisfied with. I want to feel good about what I do, who I am with and how I spend my time. And the word “spend” is important. Time is valuable. Time is precious.

This year I will be slow and savour my time.