Welcome to In a Word, a newsletter that cultivates thoughtfulness, one word at a time. If a friend forwarded you this email, click here to subscribe:
Hey there!
I promise we’ll get back to issues themed around one word in 2020, but today’s collection is in honor of 2019.
This decade has supposedly broken our view of time, and the world is literally and figuratively on fire. Maybe marking the end of the year in this context feels futile. Or maybe it would do us more good than ever.
A lot happens in a year, and changes are often glacial rather than cataclysmic. If we don’t stop to notice, we might miss how seemingly inconsequential choices and unremarkable dinners and good books have changed us.
Because the 2010’s are almost over and I’m feeling nostalgic about the lists we used to pass around The Facebook from musty college dorm rooms, I’m sharing a fun, year-in-review list. I don’t know much about archaeology, but this is a list of things archaeologists would dust off if they stumbled upon my 2019, long after I’m gone.
If this kind of exercise appeals to you, I made a printable version for you. It’s meant to be a fun, easy entry point into reflection. You might be surprised what stands out when you note where you paid your attention and dollars this year. (And since I couldn’t help myself, I threw in some deeper questions on pg. 2)
File under: “No one asked for this but you’re welcome.”
Clothing purchase: Zella live-in joggers (really embracing the mom-iform this year)
Footwear purchase: L.L.Bean wicked good slippers
Runner up: ABLE leopard mules
Skincare product: The Ordinary’s hyaluronic acid 2% +B5
Runner up: Mad Hippie vitamin C serum
Makeup product: Tarte tinted BB cream (I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you NOT to sign up for their emails because they are out of control.)
Runner up: Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in Pillow Talk
Household purchase: Shark steam mop
Subscription: The Popcast’s Patreon (#BFOTS)
Trader Joe’s find: Goat cheese medallions
This goat cheese is so important it should have been in my family’s Christmas card picture.
Runner up: Pita bite crackers
Boozy drink: Old Fashioned made with Bittermilk No. 1
Warm drink: Yorkshire Gold tea
Runner up: Hot honey-lemon-ginger water
Cold drink: Polar orange vanilla seltzer
Dinner recipes:
Roasted Broccoli and White Beans (simple and satisfying)
TV show: Fleabag
(Mostly season two, but I’ll never forgive the people who misled me by recommending I skip season one. When I go to the Louvre, should I just skip the Mona Lisa??? Bad example I guess, because I kind of did skip the Mona Lisa, but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.)
Novel: The Dearly Beloved
Runners up: The Dutch House, Stay with Me, Nothing to See Here
Nonfiction book: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Donation: Wheelchair Project
Gift received: My friend Liz filled out this “I Wrote A Book About You” book for my birthday and it was so unique and thoughtful.
Gift I gave: For Mike, a solo stay-cation. (Parents need time alone. Family time is always valuable, but not always restorative.)
Podcast episodes:
The Popcast - The Nos of Marriage
Heavyweight - #27: Scott
WTF with Marc Maron - Stephen Colbert
Without Fail - Ira Glass: The Man Who Launched a Thousand Podcasts
Goal tracking tool: Elise Joy’s One Day at a Time Tracker
Instagram post: So often, we’re more free than we know.
Apps:
Calm: Mike and I listen to a Sleep Story every night, and it has worked wonders for my frantic bedtime brain. (#IfYouKnowYouKnow)
Libby: library audiobooks and ebooks
Voxer: for talking to Internet and faraway friends.
Aaptiv: workout classes in my earbuds
1 Second Everyday: I can’t wait to see the compilation video of our year in 365 seconds.
Quote: “Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God.” - Henri Nouwen
Phone practice: Keeping social media apps and Gmail app off my phone most of the time, and all app notifications turned off.
Spiritual practice: Silence and solitude (on the too-rare occasions I practiced it)
Mental health practice: Regular therapy sessions, and doing the work my therapist recommends between sessions.
Friendship investment: Standing appointments
Ticket stub: Hamilton Playbill
Marriage investment: Also Hamilton. (Who knew he would do so much for our democracy and my marriage?) Shared interests are a key way we connect, and the night we saw it was also the one night we spent away from Betsy this year, just us.
What made your list? Download a blank copy to fill out here.
The most-clicked links from the last six months of In A Word:
Top Dinner Suggestions According to a Three Year Old’s Eating Habits
In Retrospect, the Theme for Chad’s 4th Birthday Should Not Have Been “Stanford Prison Experiment”
In the dusk of 2019, may we make amends, make merry, and make room. There’s still time, in these shortening days, to tend to the things that won’t make our resumes, but make our lives.
One last thing: I wrote six Christmas and New Year’s benedictions you can download to print, share on social media, or save as your phone wallpaper (are we still calling it wallpaper?).
I’d love to hear what made your 2019 Best List! Many thanks to you for reading this year.
xo Jacey
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