Wow has this been an interesting year from the perspective of my word of the year 2011, self-care. When I started on this journey of having a word of the year I really did not realize how much it would impact me. I thought it was a fun idea and something new to try. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep my word of the year as a focus all year long.

I have created New Year’s Resolutions in the past and I also forgot about them by June and often by March. I have used a quote, affirmation, or mantra as my theme for the year and while that lasted longer than the traditional New Year’s Resolutions it did not last all year. The word of the year lasted all year!

While I recently went back and looked at my Brainstorming My 2011 Word post, I realized that while I did not do all the things I listed as possibilities for this year of self-care focus, I did do some and I did some things that were not even on the list. I was happy to see that self-care became more natural for me as part of my day without having to actually schedule something to include self-care.

Some of the things that really have stood out for me that I did this year to increase my self-care are:

• I spent more time with my family.
• I tried acupuncture several times.
• I figured out my tooth pain issue so that I can actually chew on both sides of my mouth.
• I took more naps and didn’t feel guilty about doing it and instead felt rejuvenated.
• I really enjoyed playing games with my daughter and even did a few “sleep-overs” in her room where we played games, talked and I slept in her room with her- just like she would with a friend.
• I had more down time and simplified my social calendar because that is what I needed.
• I re-evaluated what my priorities are and made sure that my days were aligned with them.
• I journaled more this year.
• I legally changed my name to Carrie. I was born and named Carren and all my life my “nick name” was Carrie. Almost all of my documents, including my social security card was listed as Carrie. However, my passport still had Carren. This was the year that I legally updated it and renewed my passport with Carrie!
• I got back on track with date nights with my husband and actually increased them as the year went on.
• I went hiking in Glacier National Park and it was amazing.
• I learned some lessons from my