Changing My One-Word
March 1, 2026 – It’s already March
I am not sure where the first two months of 2026 have gone to, but here we are. It’s time to recalibrate and delve into a “new start” to the new year. There are a million things I need to do, but I will continue to honour my time on the weekends. This form of REST is honouring and self-preserving. It’s a practice that I did not do when I was teaching in K-12 and for the first handful of years when I started teaching at the university. As much as I thought it was something that I needed to do to be viable and valuable, it took me several decades to realize that I am important and valuable too. I needed to re-navigate my life so that it would or could be sustainable. A couple of years ago, I almost burned out in January and I thought that I needed to respect my health and wellness. In doing so, I needed to figure out who I was, what’s important to me, and do what I wanted to do (not what I thought I needed to do). It’s taken some time for me to figure this out.
For example, today was a gorgeous day. I was inspired to get outside and go for a walk. I needed to connect with the land and place. It’s something that I don’t do that often, but today felt different. Maybe it’s a day for renewal, but I wanted to enjoy the sunshine and make the most of my weekend. I know that I have a billion things to do, my health and wellness are important to me. I loved getting outside and I predetermined a route for me to participate in, with a brief pitstop at the local Tim Hortons. I enjoy a cup of a medium dark regular coffee (and I needed to use the washroom too). Seemed serendipitous, and I even bumped into a former student from last semester at the restaurant (who gave me a couple of chocolates to complement my coffee… which were delicious). I enjoyed my time at Tim Hortons and on my walk, listening to my podcast. I loved the walk and coffee too.
I am also enjoying my time blogging tonight. Normally, I would be prepping for my two Monday classes, but the students are currently on practicum. It provides a little break from the enormity of my teaching schedule, but I continue to teach the undergraduate and graduate courses I am teaching as night classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Another thing I enjoyed doing today was cooking dinner for me and the kid. My kid is currently doing clinical, which involves 12-hour shifts. It’s nice to have dinner ready for her today and I was pleasantly surprised that she enjoyed the veggie fried rice. I thought she would not have any of the fried rice, and I would be left with days of having this veggie fried rice. Apparently, it’s not the case. She enjoyed the lemon chicken, but was not a fan of the frozen veggies. Two out of three is not bad. I felt like tonight’s dinner was a WIN!!
As we delve into the new year, I am having second thoughts of my #OneWord2026. Initially, it was PRACTICE, but I’ve been feeling that it should be JOY, instead. Maybe it can be PRACTICE-JOY… a hyphenated word. That seems reasonable. It makes the word “practice” a bit more specific and intentional. Hmm… I like that. There is nothing I like more than a reflective practice. Blogging for me forces me to practice writing, but really, writing is thinking. Getting to a place where I can elaborate on my #OneWord2026 has turned out way better than I expected. I feel “joyful” and happy with this adaptation.
YES… practice-joy. I can do that!!