2014 Word of the Year: Linger

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I love the idea of having a word of the year. One word to help keep me focused, one word to sum up my hopes, dreams and goals for the year. It wasn’t easy finding the right word for me. But I think I found a good one.

My word of the year for 2014 is “Linger”

linger word of the year 2014

So much has been happening in my life. Lots of beautiful things…. and lots of things to call for my time and attention.

This year, I want to slow down, and focus.

This year, I’ll be saying a reluctant goodbye to Germany as we pack our family up and move back to the United States. We’re headed to the East Coast in the fall, and while I will be happy to be back in the land of Target and drive-thru, I am heart broken to leave our home in Germany.

I want so badly to just Linger here. I know I can’t stay longer than our scheduled PCS time, but I am going to linger over every last second of this experience. I am going to take my time on trips, soaking in the sights, and I am of course, going to be reluctant to leave.

But lingering is about more than how badly I want to hang on to this place.

I also want to hang on to this life.

Homeschooling has been a beautiful accidental adventure. Sometimes, it’s hard. Sometimes I feel burnt out, and sometimes I want to quit. But I am going to persist. I’m going to continue. When we leave this place, I am bringing Homeschooling with me.

And then there are my kids, and the simple, day to day, beautiful things that they are. Childhood is flying by, and it breaks my heart. Bug will be eight this year. eight. How did that happen?

I want to linger over these moments with my children. I want to take the time to really see them. I want to slow down, and focus more intently on them. I want to make sure I take the time to push them on the swings, and hold their little hands, and kiss their heads at bedtime. I want to soak up their smell, and their squishy little cheeks, and the twinkle in their eyes. I want to dwell in enjoyment of motherhood.

This is what I want for my life.

I want to Linger.

I want to remain in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave.

I am reluctant to leave my home here, I am reluctant to leave this lifestyle of homeschooling, I am reluctant to leave the little years. How bittersweet it is…. how unexpected to want to linger in this.

I want to remain alive, to continue, and persist.

I don’t want to give up. Not on any of it.

I want to dwell in contemplation, thought and enjoyment.

I don’t want to take a moment of this life for granted.

I have 10 months left in Germany. I have every day with these little people. Our life is beautiful, with nothing at all to complain about. I have so much in the here and now. I do not want to spend this year thinking (or worrying!) about tomorrow, when there is so much to enjoy today.

What would you name as your word of the year?

Word for 2014
To read my crewmates’ words of the year, click the graphic below after 9 am est, 01/01/2014.

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9 Comments

  1. I love your word for this: “linger!” And I need to embrace it for a very different reason – we also live in Germany, though not with the military, and it has been very hard for us in the land of illegal homeschooling. In a year I haven’t met one person who keeps their 3 year-old (so young!! time is so precious!) home with them. I am often met with a lot of opposition for going outside the “system.” I am trying hard to enjoy the experience, but so much of me wants to head back Stateside where there would be supportive friends, Mommy and Me classes in the mornings, and a plethora of resources instead of empty parks and closed kids’ attractions all morning. (Thankfully, we will head back home before compulsory school begins as we intend to continue homeschooling through high school.) But you have inspired me, and I am going to tell myself when I start to feel panicked and lonely – linger!!!

    1. Oh gosh, Meagan, that WOULD be crazy hard and isolating! We love our German friends, but what we do is so foreign to them, it gets tiresome to explain again and again what and how we do it, especially when they disapprove.
      Is there an American military group near you? There are so many homeschoolers here, and I bet they would be happy to spend time with you! You can message me if you want help finding a support group.

      1. Thank you so much, Heather, for the message and support! It feels good to know that I’m not the only misunderstood homeschooler in Germany, haha. We are near Munich, in Starnberg, and the closest military base is Garmisch, which is almost an hour away. So, no military families nearby, but a large ex-pat community. However, almost all of them send their little kids to school full time. Actually, most people I’ve met even start at 2! They are so eager to get their kids “in the system.” I’ve even posted on the popular Parents in Munich group asking if any other people with 3 year-olds don’t do school full time, but haven’t had much luck. With all the controversy re: recent German homeschooling families it feels actually a bit scary, though I know we aren’t illegal at Levi’s age. ANYWAY :)…just really enjoy your blog and knowing that there are others in the vicinity doing the same thing!! Thank you again. – Meagan

  2. I LOVE this. It’s exactly how I feel too. Life is moving too quickly and I wish I could push the pause or slow down button for a while! I felt like our last few years in the states were rush here rush there from this museum or activity to that and while we are traveling a TON, when we are home, we are home. We are not involved in a lot of programs and we can just enjoy this slow paced life. I absolutely love this time of life. I’m glad to know you still have 10 months here in this beautiful place!

    1. I’m not ready to leave. I don’t think we ever will be! I do think that life moves at a little slower pace here. There’s less to even tempt me to get involved in! Not to mention things being closed early, and on sundays, it’s just a whole different way to do things, and I just love it. I don’t know if I want to get back to the “go, go, go” in the states!

    1. Drive-thrus are one thing I never anticipated missing. I didn’t use them often, but sometimes you just want to shove food at the kids without getting out of the car. Bad weather, sickness, just too busy….. It’s something I rarely want, but when I do, I get annoyed. In Germany’s defense, there are a handful of drivethru’s here (they are rare- but the McDrive is around), but I don’t speak the language well enough to use them, so it’s a moot point.

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