This Year’s Word
Every year since 2019 I’ve picked a word or a phrase to sum up my hopes for the year. That year, Facebook was advertising a company that would put a word of your choosing on a silver washer and make a bracelet out of it
I decided the advice I needed to wear was “Just Begin.” I wore the bracelet like a charm whenever I was nervous about something. All I had to do was begin. The ending would take care of itself.
In January 2020, I chose “Seek Joy” as my directive for the year. I wanted to ease up on myself, to remind myself to enjoy the process, to take pleasure in simple things. It was a good reminder as the world shut down around me.
For 2021, I chose the phrase “Hold on to Hope.” Vaccines were on the horizon. My elderly parents had survived the pandemic.
The word for 2022 was Complete. I liked its multiple meanings: lacking nothing, whole, entire, full, undivided, uncompromised or, as a verb, to make perfect.
Last year the selection was easier, strangely enough. My father was dying and I was getting advice from every direction. What I really needed was “Clarity.”
I decided that, rather than buy a bracelet every year, I would buy the kit from My Intent and start making my own bracelets.
I struggled to find a word or phrase to encapsulate my hopes for this year. What I wanted was more of a sense of Balance between work and life, instead of always feeling like I am neglecting one when I do the other. I had almost settled on Reflection, because I liked the sense of doing the emotional work I’ve been avoiding since I lost my dad.
Finally, after a lot of discussion, after a lot of trying one one word, then another, I settled on Satisfied.
I am never satisfied. I always feel like there is more I could’ve done, more I should’ve done. There’s always more left to do. You’ve seen those memes about how becoming a writer is choosing to have homework for life. That’s me, except that I feel like that in every aspect of my life: family, home, work, health… It’s exhausting, to be honest.

My perfect imperfect bracelet!
So I am going to try to give perfection a rest. I’m going to do my best and then try to enjoy the product without stressing over the places where it’s only adequate. I am going to attempt to feel satisfied. I’ll let you know how it goes.
While I’m at it, my goals for the year are:
Finish Still Wish You Were Here: More Adventures in Cemetery Travel finally. My hope is to have it out in May.Prepare for the release of 222 Cemeteries to See Before You Die in August.Start overhauling the first Alondra novel, The Death of Memory.We’ll see how it goes. So far this year, I have resisted diving into Still Wish You Were Here, because there are some emotional essays to write yet. It’s only the 8th. I am going to give myself some grace and start reading over the things that are finished this week.
If you’d like to make a bracelet (or necklace) with your own word of the year, check out MyIntent.com. I’m not an affiliate and don’t make any money from the recommendation. I just like them.
If you’d like to have some support for bringing your own projects to life, check out the Spooky Writer’s Planner I created with Emerian Rich. If you like to move pages around and set up your planners how YOU like them, it’s available as a printable download on Etsy. There’s a grab-and-go paperback version on Amazon.