Hitting Rewind

So, 2016 started out with me being sick, but I could still make progress on my goals. 

Then we got a week in to 2016, and that all went out the window. 

I'd forgotten how much pneumonia takes out of you--the whole if I try to get dressed/put on make up/make a meal, I spend the next day wiped out and paying for it. I am feeling better, in that there's much less pain, I can breathe regularly, my heart rate is better, and I can take deep breaths! I'm sure my PFTs will be better on Monday. But as far as "normal activities", not a lot is happening yet, beyond the basic basics. 

That's OK--it just makes my goal tending Powersheets page look a little forlorn, these days. :) 

I go back to clinic on Monday for a follow-up, and assuming we don't see anything terrible, I will slowly start increasing things. But that, I don't just mean activity, I mean daily things, like writing/editing/reading--things that don't sound terribly strenuous, but can be when you're dealing with a limited supply of energy. 

One thing that has progressed, so far, is my art--I'm really glad to have decent brushes now, and to be playing with color and form. I will finish my Sketchbook Skool class by the end of the month, and that was one of my goals for this month, along with editing Tempest (and I did that, too--at least a first pass edit.) So this month wasn't a complete waste, goal-wise. 

And this might sound odd, but--the nurses I had in the hospital were pretty great. I don't mind spending time with good nurses. :) 

So I'm going to ease back into goals next week, and start February with renewed vigor--and hopefully a rescheduled California trip! 

Word for 2016

I've done this for a few years now...picked a word that would encompass something I wanted to work on, lean on, learn in the coming year. 

Last year, it was Trust. The year before that, Jesus. 

This year? 

This year, I'm choosing Joy. 

Because no matter what--joy is possible. Joy can be found everywhere. 

I want 2016 to be a year of unbridled joy. 

This isn't because I'm an unjoyful person. I generally try to keep pretty cheerful and find happiness in basic things. If it's a day where everyone's out of the hospital at the end of it, then it's by default a good day. 

In Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts, she talks about the roots of the word eucharisteo: thanksgiving. The word charis, grace, is there, but also the derivative of charis--chara. Joy. 

Grace, thanksgiving, joy--all in one word. 

And of course, Eucharist--eucharisteo. Jesus gave thanks at the Last Supper. The Eucharist, the Precious Body and Blood of Christ that we Catholics can receive every single day--it's Thanksgiving. 

Do we treat it like that? 

Joy and gratitude are inexplicably bound up, even in etymology. So this year, I'm going to find that Joy--Joy overflowing and superabundant. Joy always.