Tag resolutions

2023 – The Year of the Link

trinimomindmiddle 2 Comments

Happy New Year and Welcome 2023! Thank God I’m around to see you!

The year 2022 Anno Covidi started with with hope and expectation but I think that it was only in the second half that I began to feel less and less restricted and more and more free to be my ‘normal’ self. I felt like I could fully exhale and get back to the things I happily loved to do even while experiencing personal setbacks and resets. Such is life though, one day you’re blazing in glory, next day you’re crawling in ashes.

A couple of days ago when trying to encapsulate my year end review on social media, I realized that the majority of joyful moments came when I simply spent time with people. I don’t think I realized how much I missed my family and friends while on lockdown/quarantine/distancing etc. so therefore when the time came for actual, physical ‘link ups’, I was in total bliss. With this revelation at the forefront of my thought process, enter my 2023 Word of the Year:

Yes I am one of those persons. No new resolutions in sight but I try to centre my life and my year around one word. The more I sat with CONNECTION, the more it resonated. How do I vibrate higher, strengthen my relationship with myself, my family, friends and community? Everything is inextricably linked with space to improve and staying connected is the one thing I plan to be intentional with in order to close the gaps left in my life by the previous years.

So that’s it! May 2023 be the year that brings it full circle for me and for those I interact with and may we all find the joy in simple CONNECTION.

How about you? Do you have a Word of the Year? I’d like to hear it if you care to share, let’s meet in the comments!

Blessings

TMIDM

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Bring de cake!

trinimomindmiddle 1 Comment
Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo! Bonne Année! Xīnnián hǎo!

(Google helped me with my Mandarin…)

I feel like I can still send you good tidings even if we are still in the 9th month of January and while it may feel old (especially fuh we who crawling to payday), the year is still basically new. Hell, some people are still writing 2021 for the date, ah could bet meh last struggling Christmas snacks on dat.

I have long given up on the idea of New Year’s Resolutions and if there is anything the last two years of ‘WTF’ have taught us, it is to just be resolute in living every day. So for this new year, much like 2021 (especially when we thought the ‘rona would disappear at midnight and we would return to normalcy), I am keeping my aspirations very measured and I am trying to live my best life one day at a time. As a matter of fact, I have taken up the hashtag #bringthecake stolen without remorse from a recent release from Mary J. Blige who is my aunty/godmother even if she doesn’t know it yet. #bringthecake is a reminder to me to live everyday like it’s your birthday (much like the song which I have on endless repeat). Life is short and rather than live in anticipation of the next big thing, I choose to regard the small victories, day by day.

Now this may not be your recipe, some people are still throwing their line, aiming far to reel in the big goals while others are experiencing ‘failure to launch’, not sure of the what or the how or the why, still shell-shocked from 2021. I regard both positions and to me, they are both acceptable as I am a very strong advocate for ‘do what works for you’.

My 2022 hashtag goes well with my 2022 quote which is again stolen without remorse from Carl Jung, a Swiss theorist I studied many blood moons ago but whose words will be relevant for me this year:

Jung Inspirational Quotes Vision. QuotesGram
A whole Tedtalk in a couple ah lines

I don’t know if it is a thing with being in your forties (and those in the later forties feel free to let me know in the comments please) but suddenly I feel very purposeful with being self-aware and what genuinely connects me to me, as though it is now THE THING that matters. I feel like it is not a new journey but a new type of discovery I am yet to undergo. One thing for sure is that I have made it a definite priority to remain focused on celebrating the person who is going to grow from it all. Sounding good?

Aye, do me a favour and remind me of this whenever I say that my work/gremlinz/husband/plants/students/Trinidad society in general are driving me blasted insane. Feel free to send some damn cake! Ah will appreciate dat.

Bless

TMIDM

P.S. I also have a word for 2022, check it out here and of course lemme know what you picked for your word, quote, mantra or hashtag for 2022 in the comments below!

It’s December! (…in 2020)

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If the 1st January is the start of a new year, fresh beginnings, campy resolutions, intentional promises and shaky gym memberships, the 1st of December represents the last ditch effort to give all of these things a go. Just knowing that we have one more month to aim high and finish with a flourish, makes December smell better than the rest. Moreover, with Christmas and my birthday in the mix, December is not up for debate as the best month of the year. Fight me.

#CapricornNation

Now arguably, what we need to pay attention to is that 2020 has been a strange one what with a pandemic, lockdowns, swarms of locusts and even a dead body joyriding to his own funeral here in my land.* (Is Trinidad a real place? Jah boy, who knows yes🙄😒) . December may very well be a slow crawl with us crossing fingers and praying for an end to the crazy when the clock strikes midnight on the 31st. However, I maintain that even while you expect the worst, you can still hope for the best. This year we have lost so much in terms of people (RIP to Rona victims, Kobe, Trebek and Maradona) and things (my sanity while teaching & homeschooling), it may be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But you know something? The point of a tunnel is that you do eventually get out on the other side however long it may be.😉

This December I am really trying my best to scale down my Christmas prep as excited as I am for the season. It’s hard though, every suggestion I make to the hubby is either met with a raised eyebrow or a half smile which is his version of “you mad yes, smh” or “ok dear”. I already issued fair, advanced warning to the gremlinz to chop their Christmas lists in quarter (not half) as with Ms Rona still palancing, we need to save the coins as much as possible. Not to mention that IF school opens in January, money needs to be spent on covid protection, uniform, shoes, bookbags, lunchkits, preschool fees and allowances (not books, which they already have thank God). The idea of back-to-school spending in December with Christmas AND my 40th coming up is realllll trauma for me (and my bank card) and is low-key the second reason (the first is obvious) that I need school to remain closed….at least until February, I ain’t go lie. That January guava season will be reallll severe.

Still, we keep it positive right? I’m grateful that I can re-use my seasonal home items and although I will miss my Christmas shopping buddies and our outings, I can afford to make do with what I have. If there is anything I do need to get, I will be avoiding all the stores with the word “Home” in their names and patronizing as much local, small businesses as I can, particularly for gifting purposes. One good thing is that this movement picked up steam this year and I am so here for it! I honestly wish I could buy most of the quality products I’m observing but again…meh coins could only stretch so far😭.

So yes, it’s December! Let’s welcome it with hope and joy! Whether you are on #teamcaution or #teamYOLO still buss ah dance nah!!

#Carltondance

How are you preparing for this final stretch of 2020? What are you looking forward to the most this season? Let me know in the comments below!

Blessings

TMIDM