seven months of simple

Back at the end of 2013, I decided to join in the millions of folks who have been selecting one word to help guide their year. People have done this for years and years, but I've always thought I could never know what my year would hold, and so I didn't want to try to pick one word that would guide it.

Not 2014. I knew that with a new little girl on the way, and me staying home to care for two kiddos under three, plus a book coming out and all that would entail, I needed some sort of guiding principle for my year. And without thinking twice, I knew what my word would be.

SIMPLE.

With all the craziness I knew this year would bring, I wanted to remind myself to keep everything as simple as I could. I could think of dozens of ways this word might apply to my life in 2014, and knew that for every way I'd already thought of, a dozen new ways would pop up.

Seven months in, I'm so grateful I chose this word.

This year has been so full, in all the best of ways. And throughout it, I've reminded myself SIMPLE as often as I could.

Because of this word, my post-baby closet is edited down to the things I love and wear. We have taken car-loads of baby things to a friend who is having her first baby (a little girl!) in just a few months. We have taken car-loads of things to donate.

Because of this word, my yarn stash is a fragment of what it was seven months ago. I'm working on using up what I've got, focused on giving again instead of pattern-writing and shop stocking and so many other things.

Because of this word, I haven't written nearly as much as I had in summers past, and I've knit less than a handful of hats in July. Instead, we're off to the park almost every day, heading to splash parks and the zoo, and generally having adventures as often as we can. The weather has been wonderful so far this summer, and while I'm not a fan of the heat and the sunburn that comes with it, I am living outside and in the moment as much as I can with my two outside-loving kids.

Because of this word, I am choosing simple in all areas of my life, and constantly asking "is this the simplest way?" in new situations. It's because of this commitment to simple that I'm back on Blogger. It's this commitment to simple that's guiding a few big decisions for my fall and winter hat-making.

I'm so excited to watch how SIMPLE shapes the rest of my year. For now, I know that even when our house is a disaster (like it is right now), with toys everywhere and laundry needing to be done, things are fare more simple than they've ever been. And it's such a good thing, and such a fun way to live life. Just what I needed this year - SIMPLE.