I’ve been so wrapped up in this website change that I haven’t even wished you a Happy New Year yet. So here it is officially—happy New Year! I hope your year is off to a great start.

I wish the week between Christmas and New Year was more like a month. I love that time of closing up old business, and making plans for the New Year ahead. As 2012 came to a close, for the most part, I was really happy to see it go. For me, 2012 will forever be the year I lost my Dad.

2012 got off to a great start. I felt really energized and had so much momentum going. And then, right around my birthday, the breaks slammed on. It was then that I realized things were taking a turn for the worse with my Dad…that this time the chemo wasn’t getting the job done. For the rest of 2012, my focus became my Dad.

I wouldn’t change any of it – the trips to Michigan, the time I spent with him in his final days, none of it. But it feels like the year got cut short, or at least, that it turned in a completely different direction than I had envisioned in January 2012.

I wish that somehow missing my Dad was something I could have left in 2012…but it followed me into 2013. And I’m afraid it will be with me for a long time to come. But I’m ready to look—and move—forward. I’m ready for 2013. I’m ready to create momentum again.

During the space between Christmas and New Year, I thought a lot about my word for 2013. I wanted a word that encourages me to keep moving forward and to do so in a way that honors my Dad and his memory. I considered the word “count” as in “make it count” which is what my Dad did with the later part of his life. He made the days count. He even found ways to make the seconds count. He found ways to live life and laugh…even in the face of death.

I also liked the idea of counting…counting goals, counting progress, counting blessings.

But then it started to feel too technical and it felt like there was a better word, a word that would better encapsulates what I want in 2013. Another word kept coming up for me—the word is happy. 

As I look back and think about my dad, what I remember most was what a happy guy he was. Always laughing, always finding ways to have fun and be happy. And he made me happy just by being around him or talking to him on the phone. Even though I miss him and feel sad that he is gone, what I know for sure is that he would want me to be happy. And so, for 2013, my theme, my goal, my focus is on creating and spreading happiness.

And so my word for 2013 is happy. I’m looking forward to creating and sharing happiness in 2013.

What’s your word, goal or theme for 2013? Thanks for sharing! Here’s to making 2013 a wonderful year. 

Happy New Year!

Aby