One Little Word

Chosen one yet ? One little word which sums up how you want to approach the New Year .

Mine is LIBERATE . It came to me in a flash - they usually do which must mean it was lurking in my subconscious.

I chose it because it has positive connotations and can apply to many different themes. First and foremost , I want to liberate myself from pain. Having been diagnosed with Osteo Arthritis nearly 3 years ago most of my joints have gone downhill ... apart from my 2 new stainless steel knees ! This year , I may have to have a shoulder replacement and then I have to deal with my hips. I can't even begin to think about it . I'm therefore going to attend a pain management clinic to see if I can hang on in there a bit longer rather than resorting to surgery.

I'm also planning on liberating my 'stuff' - all that junk that's cluttering up my life. I started this morning my unsubscribing from useless emails that only encourage me to buy something I don't need. I'm a sucker for a gadget as anyone will tell you ( still got to unbox my Spiraliser ... but then haven't we all ... oh.. you mean you're actually using yours ??? ) . Having just read one of my favourite blogs - The Minimalists - I'm going to join in their 30 Day Minimalism Game which involves chucking out one thing you don't really need on the 1st of January , 2 on the 2nd and so on. I'm hoping email subscriptions count in which case I'm ahead of the game ... literally.

Sounds tough doesn't it but then do I really need to hang on to every freebie bar of mini soap from every hotel I've ever stayed in , especially when I don't even use soap ?

My third act of liberation is going to involve time - the time that disappears into the sink-hole of my life - when I get sucked into reading, or rather looking at,  the pictures in lifestyle magazines that make my own kitchen look like a formica throwback to the sixties and fundamentally encourage me to believe that what I have is somehow inferior and that the rest of the world is living in a show-home. I rather like the lived-in look of our slightly shabby kitchen that was fitted over 20 ( yes 20 ! ) years ago and has the dents and knocks to prove it. I can see where eldest son placed a red hot cast iron wok on our kitchen table when he cooked his first meal with his first girlfriend and the chunk of veneer that chipped off our lovely glossy black piano when youngest son slammed the lid down after an unsuccessful attempt at a difficult piano piece.

So, my kind of liberation comes in many forms which will no doubt evolve over the year.

What's your One Little Word for 2016 ?