I love having a January birthday. Not only do you get all of the presents that you didn't receive for Christmas, but you also have a second chance at gearing up for the year to come. When everyone else has finished rolling out their resolutions and stopped swarming library yoga, I have a little bit of breathing room to look back at my year in review and look forward to what's coming next. 

Last year I was all about the resolutions. I resolved to drink my coffee black during the week and came away with a habit that let me cut down on my sugar intake as well as enjoy my creamy, delicious, weekly coffee that much more. I also resolved to do a handstand--and I totally can, I swear. I just haven't posted the proof yet. This year, I started noticing more and more people around the internet talking about a word for the year. I honestly wasn't anticipating choosing one, because I've been doing so about every six months as part of my goal-casting PowerSheets journals. One day though, one just seemed to come to me when I was walking Sofie, like most of my ideas do. That word was "longevity." 

2017 was a big year, but not as big as I thought it would be, or even as big as 2016 was. There seemed to be a lot of things that had happened in the past that just carried on, even though I wasn't sure whether they would. It was also full of things that I started or aspired to start that I never got around to finishing, let alone beginning. Amidst all of the things that are old and new, finished and undone, things I've been working on since January 1 of last year, and things that I feel like I've accomplished but are still proving to be challenges in my life, I know that I want to keep a focus on the things I can feasibly perform to my benefit indefinitely. 

As a Kaleidoscope team, we landed on a word for our year in a similar way. "I think our word should be follow through," Alex said, and we all nodded, agreed, and owned it. As you probably know by now, Kaleidoscope runs on coffee, glitter, and all of the creativity. If I had a dollar for every great idea we had, I would be paying someone else to write this blog. We're really good about setting yearly goals, and so far we've accomplished almost every one that we've laid out for ourselves. That's really encouraging going into 2018; but it also means that we start almost every year as though it were our first--and last. So this year, we're working really hard on taking all of that creative energy that drives us to keep going to work (aka sitting down at our kitchen tables) every day and doing the nitty gritty in between brainstorms that involves faithfully stewarding our time and resources to see our biggest visions through. 

So, what do longevity and follow through have to do with one another? It means that some of my goals might look more like really small things, like replacing the buttons on my coat that I've been wearing for six years and would love to wear for six more. I might put money away so that when the best yoga teacher training comes along, I'm ready to complete it, rather than the other way around. Our goals at Kaleidoscope might shift from big, bold moves like paying everyone full-time salaries to more small, intentional moves towards that same end, like balancing the budget every month. While we can't necessarily hire another staff member every year for the rest of our existence, we can commit to being trustworthy with our finances and seeing the benefit of that over time--all while of course continuing to dream big.

I'm so excited that you're reading this and that in some way you're invested in either my or Kaleidoscope's journey--or both! I'm looking forward to 27 and 2018 and all of the other things that are wonderful in the future.