Word of the Year: Care

My word of the year this year was care. I ended that post with, "Active care, tangible practical care," and it has certainly been that! Lots of taking care of projects around the house, and getting care for me with acupuncture and vision therapy and several brief attempts at seeing therapists. Lots of self-care, getting things done as a way of coping with isolation. The word seemed very present and active all year.

I was hoping for more emotional care, and so I settled on "warmth" for this coming year a couple of months ago. Lately I've felt more fierce about my boundaries and I've also been thinking about being respected. There's wanting to be liked and befriended in there too.

After a big breakup in 2003, I decided I was going to bring into my life everything I thought I needed a relationship for. Tangible things like buying a house, and emotional things like feeling good enough. It's still a work in progress. I looked back at the word of the year tag and it struck me that I've been adding qualities of a good relationship, year by year.

I want that kind of warmth, where someone is always happy to see you (and you're happy to see them). Where you really truly like and respect each other.

Basil is nudging my fingers for more pets and then curling up warmly in my lap as I type. He's a good source of warmth already.