For several years, I had the pleasure of sharing a blog with some wonderful ladies from Washington Romance Writers. The blog was called The Rockville 8. A couple years ago, when we all found ourselves getting pulled in different directions, the blog became too much to keep up, so we decided to take a hiatus. One of the things that I miss from that blogging experience was that every December we would each pick a word that would define us for the coming year. Well, this year we decided to reunite to do a new post for 2019. There is a nice symmetry with the words we chose, and you can read all about them here.
My word of the year, 2019: Through
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Why This Word: A few months ago, I was very despondent. I was far from home, far from family, and life was not looking quite as sparkly as usual (which is quite a bit of an understatement). Suddenly, my sadness was overtaken by this thought: Wow, I am really going through something. And if I’m going through it, then at some point I will come out the other side.
Why This Year: At the end of August 2018, my mother passed away very suddenly. That loss is one which can never be reversed. Although I do believe in an afterlife and I know we will see each other again, I will be without her for the rest of this lifetime. And to put it poetically, that just sucks big time. The adjustment period after this bereavement is a major part of what I have been going through.
I looked up the origin of “through” (researching word origins is one of my favorite forms of therapy), and it comes from a Dutch word meaning “door,” which can be traced back even further, meaning “to cross over, pass through, overcome.” There is a peaceful resonance to the idea that I am passing through a door, crossing over stress and pain, and overcoming difficulty to reach calmer times. It feels like a truth that I can hold on to when life gets rough and stormy.
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In the poem A Servant to Servants, Robert Frost writes, “The best way out is always through.” Well, sometimes it’s also the only way out. So, that’s what I’m going to do in 2019: move through my uncertainty and my grief, and reach the joyful and productive life that waits on the other side.
We are all going through something: every one of us, every day. Whatever difficulties you might be experiencing yourself, my friend, I hope that you come through, too. Hugs and Happy New Year!
