2025: The Year of “Openness”

Every year I like to come up with a “word of the year” for myself, and I know it’s already February but late is better than never, right? Now, if I’m being truly honest, it doesn’t necessarily end up meaning much, but I still like to have something in the back of my mind that I at least will attempt to strive for – something to help me pretend I’m doing my best to be better. Because come on, being the best version of ourselves is kind of a big deal.

I read a book recently that I found really enlightening and I highly recommend it. While there were so many lines and quotes that stuck out to me, one in particular really hit a chord. It read: “So much of my life I have let slip by, because I have not attended to it. All this while, instead of seeking more time, I could have been paying attention.” – Rachel Khong, Real Americans

The older we get, the more time seems to slip through our fingers, especially in the constant chaos of everyday life. We’re seemingly always sprinting from one thing to the next, day after day. It feels like we’re constantly chasing after more – more time, more money, more accomplishments, more popularity and in general just more moments. But what if those moments that seem insignificant, or annoying or just not worthy – what if those are the moments where life really happens.

Our whole lives we always find ourselves wishing for more time. We always think that more time will give us happiness. Those extra hours in the day allowing us to hang with friends, or get some more boxes checked off our never-ending to-do list. But if you think about it, this seemingly strong desire for more uninterrupted time creates an illusion that life’s value lies only in its smooth flow and distraction-free cadence. We fool ourselves into thinking that if we had more time to get that report in, or spend with our kids, or hang out with friends – if we had more time for ALL of the things – only then could we find happiness and be filled.

But all of this constant racing back and forth and always longing for more time, can make us blind to what’s truly right in front of us. Time is not something that we can control – we can’t save it or stretch it and we certainly can never go back in it. Whether we want it to or not, time marches on, with or without us. It doesn’t care that we had to work until midnight every night. Or we didn’t make it to our kid’s sporting event because we got stuck in a meeting. It’s indifferent to our plans. But sometimes, it’s those unplanned moments – those annoying disturbances – that end up being the most meaningful in a person’s life.

Think about those moments when you heard from someone unexpectedly or your kid runs in with a sudden need for immediate attention and/or a ride somewhere (because you know that happens ALL of the time), or friend drops by unannounced. At first it might seem like a giant pain in the butt that’s pulling you away from whatever you were doing at the time. But look closer. Aren’t those the moments where real connections happen? Aren’t they the moments you’ll look back on and smile, realizing they shaped your life in small but significant ways?

I’ve had several conversations with other moms, especially lately, about car rides and car pooling. I swear in those brief 20-minute jaunts around town you can learn more about your kids and their lives than you ever could attempting to try and pull things out of them on your own time schedule. Now was I annoyed that I had to pause what I was doing to give my kid a ride – absolutely. But was it worth it to learn how they feel about X, Y and Z or hear about the latest school drama? YES. The key is acknowledging how we perceive interruptions. Instead of seeing them as obstacles to our plans and our lives in general, we should view them as life itself unfolding. Interruptions are just invitations to be present and to engage with the world. And maybe it’s not how we intended, but maybe it’s even better.

Many of life’s pivotal moments come disguised as interruptions. The time you ditched your original plans to help a friend and you ended up meeting your future spouse. Or the time you got lost and ended up meeting a lifelong friend. All the unforeseen surprises that may feel like a pesky interruption at the time, but really they end up changing your life path. These are the moments that shape our lives, not in spite of being interruptions, but because of them.

All that said, my word of 2025 is “Openness.” Maybe it’s overly simplified, but my goal for myself is to stop viewing the constant barrage of interruptions as negative, and instead view them as potential turning points. I want to appreciate the unpredictability of life instead of blaming it. Life doesn’t wait for us to find the perfect moment, if there even is such a thing. It happens in the interruptions, in the midst of chaos and the unexpected. If we choose to embrace these moments, I believe we can live more fully and appreciate the beauty in what we once might have brushed aside.

So the next time your kid gets on a different sports team than you had planned for or you miss your train or you have to stop in the middle of making dinner to drive your kid to the 50th practice of the day, take a moment to recognize it for what it is: an opportunity to live, to connect and most importantly, to grow. After all, life happens in the interruptions. Don’t waste the time you do have by always wishing for more, and be open to the unexpected.