One Word – Old Skool

Today, the Kickin’ it Old Skool Blog-a-Thon challenges us to choose one word to describe the coming year.

I’ve spent all day thinking about it, but I finally came up with it.

PROGRESS

I’ve got a ton of things on my plate. So many things that I’m working toward. Probably too many things to really assume that I will become adept at any of them in the next year.  Things like:

• Fencing – and other swordy forms of the western martial arts
• Professional Publications – and original science in general
• Science Outreach
• Costuming
• Writing (Fiction)

These things are very, very different and require a lot of attention. If I wanted to be massively successful at one of these in the next year, I’d have to abandon all the others. Plus, I’d also have to neglect two other very important things:

• The social, intellectual, and physical development of my son
• Advancing and protecting my marriage

Those last two things trump all the others, for sure.

But in all cases, all I hope for this year is progress, rather than stagnation, or worse, going backwards.

I’ll take my fencing lessons when I can. I’ll team up with other professionals and get a paper or two into the peer-review process. I’ll make a few costumes. I’ll continue to revise and write my novels.

I’ve already made progress on the science outreach end of things, as it seems that I’ll be writing a regular web column for a science-based organization next year. I’ll tell more when the details are firmed up.

All I want to do is make progress in these aspects of my life. But all of them will go to the back burner when the progress of my son or of my marriage is at stake.

How about you? What word will you use to describe your 2014?