I give each year a theme. Sound silly? Maybe, but it helps me stay focused. And yes, I actually do keep to the theme each year. For example 3 years ago (note: the year I met The Hubs) I decided "sabbatical" was my theme. I took a break from drinking and from dating. Why? Because it doesn't matter which one you start with, dating or drinking, they ultimately lead back to one another. I stayed with my theme (taking a break for birthday weekend of course) and managed to train to walk the Komen 3 Day/60 mile walk that year too. Giving the year a theme has always served me well.
The 2013 theme? Quality over Quantity. Why this year? Why now? Well it seems appropriate given the changes in our lives. It seems even mor appropriate as The Sonish will turn 16 this year. Yep, 16. I remember 16. It meant being almost done with high school. It meant a drivers license. It meant freedom. As a parent(ish) it also means less time with him as he builds a life of his own. It also means having to be understanding and learn to be patient when his life comes before family (I'm sure my parents are grinning ear to ear remember when this happened to them) and always being supportive. 2013 is expected to bring fewer number of days we will spend with The Sonish as his summer vacation is already filling up. This means we're going to focus on quality of days instead of the quantity of days.
The same is true for our time together as a couple. Like all of you, life often gets in our way. We run from work function to phone calls with the Sonish to volunteer function to charity event to family time and fill up our days before we even know what hit us. Instead of getting mad or upset or depressed I'm going to focus on the quality of time together. That might even mean turning off the ringer and putting the phone in my purse during dinner. Crazy, huh? It might even mean stopping what I'm doing and listening to more.
Of course, Quality over Quantity applies to other areas of my life as well. It certainly applies to health, the items we shop for, the food we consume (we said goodbye to the drive up window last year and couldn't be happier), and the $20 Target dresses that I really don't need. It applies to the quality of real life friendships over the quantity of Facebook friends and putting my phone away when taking time to have coffee with one of those real life friends. It applies to the time spent with our immediate and extended families giving them our undivided attention by phone or in person.
Yes. Quality over Quantity is certainly the right theme for 2013.