Well, it's 2023. That means this is the year that we turn 40. I just wrote 30 there at first, I don't know if that was subconsciousness or just bad typing. (Maybe both, maybe excellent typing is just something I am going to accept I'll never be able to do, although usually I am better than all the mistakes you can't see me making today).
I've done quite a bit of thinking about turning 40. Mostly thinking about how I don't want to be thinking about it. At times excited. At times dreading it. 40 is the first milestone birthday I remember each of my parents celebrating. (My Dad infamously got my Mom a cake with a vulture on a tombstone for her surprise 40th birthday party and we haven't let him buy a cake since.) But if I remember my parents being an age, that must mean I'm getting old, right?
Anyways, that lead me to thinking about life and lots of introspective thinking to happen between now and my (still over half a year away!) summer birthday. This is not a topic my mind has exhausted in any possible way.
Last year my word was "fun" and I think we did do more "fun" things than in many previous years. It was helped by being the first year in quite a few years where we weren't super in a pandemic and where we didn't have a rather small child relying on nap time quite heavily. It is certainly easier to have fun when we are actually able to do things AND we can do things without automatically grouchy kids if we are out in the middle of the afternoon. (Not that my kids were always happy. I have many of them each grumping all over Maine in particular).
Even pandemic restrictions aside, we did incorporate more fun into our last year with snow adventures and lots and lots more family games (Memory, Farkle, Uno, and Ticket to Ride - NYC are current crowd pleasers). Fun didn't have to be expensive or even take us outside of the house. Fun can be next to free and enjoyed even if someone is sick.
But we also did many fun things outside the house - 5 camping trips, Kings Island, and bike rides. When we were riding the ride formerly known as Scooby Doo at Kings Island, I remember specifically thinking "this is how I want to spend our money - making memories with the boys while they are still young enough to want to do that". It was a FUN year.
So I'm continuing on that theme and making my word for 2023, the big 4-0 year, ADVENTURE. Which is some ways could also apply to last year. I started booking our 2023 adventures in October, the day before we went to Texas (a trip I will blog about eventually). I really think it's good for my mental health to always have an adventure booked and ready to look forward to. (Those two bookings were just for 2 weekend camping trips).
Since then we've made more plans for this summer, more adventures to come. But adventures can also be much cheaper and closer to home. We had an adventure day last week, on one of Luke's last days of Christmas break, a weekday Matt had off too. That was $22 for an hour of family bowling (I won, for everyone who isn't even asking) and then the cost of lunch downtown. But, exploring somewhere new and spending hours together (with, yes, occasionally grouchy at time kids) was an adventure.
We can frame almost anything as an adventure. In fact, I think Sam & I are due for a Target adventure. More warm weather bike rides. Probably the same number of camping trips (I currently have the exact number we did last year booked for this year). Maybe just more framing things as adventures if that helps get the boys on board! We're at a golden age with the boys and I want to make memories with them now, maybe it'll help carry us through the teen years!
2022: Fun
2021: Small
2020: Early
2019: Discipline
2018: Simplifying
2017: Grace
2016: Intentionally
2015: Curating
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