Hi there! Well here we are, on New Year’s Eve, reflecting on the past twelve months. I’ve enjoyed watching on Instagram other people’s reels of their favorite moments from the past year. I had a very difficult time, myself, limiting my pictures to create a ‘year in review’ reel. My garden produced so many beautiful flowers this year! It was an absolute joy to tend to them.

If I had picked a Word for 2023, it would have been ‘Create’. With two large crochet blankets, a crochet sweater, a few wreaths and so many floral arrangements, I was able to use my creative energy in so many ways! It was such a fun year for creating.

Following on from Páraig’s post on The Three Hairs, I’m going to pick a word for 2024. It’s the same word that Páraig picked, actually: Purpose. Between a church sermon, a book, a tv series, and a blog post, too many sources were trying to teach me about the importance of purpose to ignore it.

For me, I’ll be focusing on doing everything with purpose. I’m going to work on eliminating ‘going through the motions’ and instead, concentrate on being present – especially with repetitive tasks.

Of course, there is the task of finding my purpose. That’s possibly a big task, but I think my purpose is to serve in small ways. My (or your) purpose doesn’t have to be to solve the world’s problems, but could be to bring joy to the world in the little things that we do. We’ll see how my journey goes. 🙂

I truly have had so many wonderful moments this year. I really enjoyed visiting with family and friends. I have one friend in particular with whom we love traveling to gardens together. My husband and I continue to travel and explore new places. And I’ve enjoyed lots of biking this year, especially with my husband.

It’s not always sunny, the flowers don’t always grow and sometimes the bike rides are really hard. But it’s important to remember that ‘this too shall pass’ – sometimes quickly and sometimes not so quickly. I’m grateful to have learned to be patient in this regard.

I’m thankful to be celebrating another New Year’s Eve! I wish you and your loved ones the very best for 2024. May all of our dreams come true! ❤️

In Peace,
Dana