Word for the Year 2016

New Year's resolutions are not for me, but last year I decided to choose a word for the year to help me focus and prioritize.  My word for 2015 was adventure.  To me, that word represented a desire to get out, explore, and make memories, and I think we did exactly that.

So I'm going for round two in 2016.  My word for this year is content.  When this word first struck me as a contender, I thought, "Nah, where's the potential for growth in that word?"  But the more I considered it, the more I realized that my attempts at growth have far too frequently come from a sense of comparison or competition or "If I work really hard and fix/accomplish/achieve this, things will be right and good."  Approaching it from that direction is unsustainable at best, self-flagellation at worst, and more often than not has led me to do things that don't really make me better and certainly don't make me happy or good for the people I love.

Maybe the biggest adventure of 2015 was letting go of some of the junk that left me feeling used up and empty and giving due attention to the people who matter most and the actions that make me feel like the best version of me.  Maybe things right now are, in fact, right and good, and maybe it's worth saying that out loud while also digging in from a place of kindness and love to make them even better.  So being content in 2016 doesn't mean sitting around and being okay with whatever but rather getting intentional about being comfortable in my own skin and waking up to the best of where I am right now, both geographically and a bit more figuratively.

That feels big and vague, but I've got some concrete ideas on how to start.  I'll be learning how to take a compliment ("Thank you" is allowed.  Deflection is not.).  The Team Hammonds adventuring will continue with a focus on exploring things close to home and learning to love where we live.  And I want to build on the "document and share things better" plan that I began last year, both here on the blog and on Instagram.

Happy 2016!

Walt Disney World Trip Report: Planning and Arrival Day

Ask me a few years ago if I would ever plan a family trip to Walt Disney World, and the response would have been a resounding NOPE, not gonna happen.

Although I grew up quoting Disney movies and wearing out the Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid soundtrack cassettes in my parents' car stereos, I had a vague yet overwhelmingly unattractive idea of what a Disney trip entailed: oppressive heat; seas of sweaty, stressed people; overpriced everything; and a pre-travel planning process that looked something akin to another full-time job.  Couple that with my husband's social anxiety, which can make sprawling, crowded, unfamiliar places the stuff of nightmares, and it was a clear no-go for us.

The more Matt began to connect to Disney, though, and the more we saw the stories Disney weaves from a little one's perspective again, the more that definite no began to shift until it became a full-fledged member of the maybe list.  And for me, even a maybe warrants extensive research, itinerary drafting, and general playing around to sort out whether it's doable.

Early on in that research process, I came across Shannon Albert's WDW Prep School, a website dedicated to helping people plan Disney World trips.  I pored over each post and listened to her podcast WDW Prep To Go every time I was in the car or flying solo in my kitchen.  Shannon's infectious enthusiasm for Disney and her six-step planning process led me, quite unexpectedly, to fall in love with Disney World and to feel confident in booking our family's trip for December of this year.

We decided on a December trip because we wanted to experience Christmas in the parks.  However, we selected dates that would get us there in between the heaviest crowds around Thanksgiving and the Christmas-to-New Year's surge.  Our final plan included five nights at the Wilderness Lodge with three park days, plus tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on our final night.

On Monday, December 7, after a year of planning, Erik, Matt, and I walked into the Wilderness Lodge for the first time.  From the very first cast member's "Welcome home," we truly felt it.  We'd found a second home.  It's not an exaggeration to say that this trip changed our lives.

Our arrival night was low-key.  We settled into our room and tried to assess how the hotel's DVC expansion might affect our trip (short answer - other than a not-great view and a sweet little treat from the hotel management, it didn't), then we headed to dinner.

We had a 6:40 dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's, so once we were all set in the room, we headed down to the boat dock for a ride over to the Contemporary.

On this first ride, we swung by Fort Wilderness first and got to watch the sun set over Bay Lake.  I hadn't anticipated using the boats as much as we did throughout the trip, but we did come to rely on them pretty heavily, and they were absolutely a highlight of our Disney routine.

Chef Mickey's was, for us, a great first meal.  Matt has an affinity for the main Disney gang and had received both a surprise invitation letter from Mickey the night before our trip and a welcome box of goodies in our room, so getting to begin with The Mouse himself, as well as Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, was perfect.  It didn't hurt that, the rowdy dining room filled with families helped to mask his post-car-ride squirreliness, too.

Well-fed and grinning from ear to ear, we headed back to the Wilderness Lodge for the night.

This is Part 1 of our trip report.  As I continue the write-up, I'll add links here to each day's post.  Next up: The Magic Kingdom.  Stay tuned!

Little Moments

Today is our last day of summer before the school year starts back.  I feel like we've lived this season fully, and I have lots to post here to catch up and document all the adventures we planned and shared over the long sunny days that made up these last couple of months.

This morning, though, I'm thinking about the unplanned moments.  The little unexpected bits of happiness that will linger in my brain and represent the best of what this summer offered.

Smiling faces on a train.

A funnel cake (my first) unceremoniously shared in a sweltering car still parked in the Six Flags lot.

Dancing with Matt (because music) in a ballroom full of strangers.  Oblivious to the crowd.

Long roadtrip talks with Erik while Matt napped in the back seat.  Reminders of why we're best friends.

Live music, heard and followed, which led to a community concert surprise.

The sounds of my too-loud family members telling stories in the hotel room next door, transporting me back to all the summer nights I lay in bed at my grandparents' house hearing those same voices float up from the downstairs kitchen to tell me everything in the world was just fine.

I am so thankful for these memories and for the mindfulness of summer that allowed me to catch them and sear them onto my heart.

Since I was very young, the calendar in my mind has always ebbed and flowed along school year lines, so I feel the new of a new school year in August far more acutely than I feel the new calendar year in January.  My wish for this new year is that I carry with me that mindfulness, make plans for big adventures, but keep a weather eye out for the little moments.

Thank you, summer.

Happy new year.