What's the word?

Last year what I wanted, was to be more intentional in my photography, and in my writing more and in letting my passions drive more of my actions. More intentional about my time, and in trying new things, and just with life in general. I wanted to be more intentional  about the things that are important to me, and yet I wanted to keep it as simple as possible.

And how did that work out?

Well, if I were a glass half empty kinda gal, and broke all those things down, I would have to say  . . . maybe not so great.

But I'm not, so I won't go there.

What I can tell you is that in life in general, intention worked out pretty good. I can say that I learned some new things, like journal making, and I shared my passion of taking football pictures from the sidelines on a Facebook page for the players and parents. And with roughly 60 hours logged in of shooting said football this past fall I might have even improved just a bit. I kept true to the things that were most important to me, which included my part in the conservation of the monarch butterfly by becoming an official Monarch Waystation and the release of another 600 butterflies raised in my dining room . But the biggest intention of all was the time I took away from here to rest my soul. And it was hard because it's not what I had intended to do with my time, and it sure didn't help with my intention of writing more.

But sometimes you just have to give yourself permission to rest even when the trade offs are high. Because, sometimes when you chose not to, the trade offs can be even higher. And when you have a child with a chronic illness you can't afford to not be intentional with yourself . . . it's the only way you can ride the changing tide.

{KK waterfront magic}

"Speak louder than the words before you

And give them meaning no one else has found

The role we play is so important

We are the voices of the underground"

by A Great Big World, (This Is The New Year)

During much of this quiet time, though, it's been harder to quiet the noise speaking in my head and heart. The one that says... I feel like there is something else I should be doing, something deeper below the surface of safe. I've felt this way for awhile and I don't mean instead of being here.

The thing is I'm not really sure what it is and if I've learned one thing about myself it's that I'm not afraid of not doing something right, just of not being prepared enough to start. Does that make any sense?

This years word, unlike past words, didn't come as freely. I knew what I wanted it to feel like, but couldn't quite grasp it. And then, while standing in the kitchen one day last week, it came to me like a lightning bolt. Poof, there it was, my word and one that for me feels interactive, one that holds possibilities.

[Reach] - to stretch or hold out, extend. To get to, or arrive at, or amount to. To establish                                     communication with.

to reach and be reached
to find solutions
to reach for answers and ask more questions
to find the courage to reach for my turn, to reach for yes
to simply reach for what's hidden . . .  then reveal it, and give it meaning


There is no guarantee that by the act of reaching that anyone will reach back, or that there is even something on the other side. No guarantee that there is an answer to a question or a solution to a problem, and I'm going to reach anyway.

I want to take the chance, to leap without fear, into the unknown, over mud puddles while reaching for the other side.

I want to reach for the stars and touch everything in between.

"When you reach for the stars, you are reaching for the

farthest thing out there. When you reach deep into yourself,

it is the same thing, but in the opposite direction. If you

reach in both directions, you will have spanned the universe."

- Vera Nazarian

P.S.- I would like to invite you to join me over at Focusing on Life today (new month, new theme) where I'm sharing thoughts on time, A Tall Ship and new beginnings.

Love, Kim


Sharing with Texture Tuesday, Song-ography