Brooke Tucker Photography Blog

It’s time to choose a word… last year I chose strength and while I may not have started out right away with a lot of it, I think I did an OK job following through with my one word for the year!

This year I put a lot of thought into my word. Brave!  It can mean sooo many different things.  I want to be brave and take leaps of faith in my business!  I want to be brave and step out of my comfort zone and push myself in my faith.  I want to be brave in my role as a mom and as a wife!

Yesterday our little family of three went to church.  We haven’t been in a while because Linc is potty training and well, I’ve been scared to take him.  Potty training boy, even though he is doing amazing at it, I just didn’t want to put that on anyone else!  We needed it though.  We needed the community and the encouragement and the message that was taught yesterday!

As we sat in church, I could hear the rain start to down pour outside and I thought oh man… what is going to happen to our day?!  We scurried out to the car (Thankfully Tuck pulled it around) and we headed on home to our “no nap Sunday!”

As Tuck tried (desperately I might add) to put Linc down for a nap, I realized why I really needed to settle on the word Brave for this year.

You see.. I am not the brave parent!  I desperately want to be!  I want to be carefree and go with the flow!  I want to go and do and throw caution to the wind!  But… something holds me back!  I worry.  I anticipate.  I worry about others and what they might think.  (or with a toddler, if we might disturb or interrupt).

Tuck is amazing!  He is pretty fearless!  He is the braver one of the two of us.  He plans but he doesn’t waste time worrying about would “could be”, he just does.

I never used to be like this!  I used to be completely opposite in fact.  I wonder what changed?!

As I sat there thinking about all this, something pretty amazing happened!  The sun came out!  Not only did the sun come out but the weather was warmer and it was this beautiful over cast but moody kind of day!

I sent Tuck a message (since he was still desperately trying to get Linc to nap upstairs) and told him to pack Linc up, I would grab the dog and let’s go ahead and take everyone down to the beach for a walk and treasure hunt!

It took a little time to get everyone on the same page, and everyone in the car, but Linc’s excitement and joy was pretty contagious!

The beach was gorgeous!  The waves:  magnificent!  We walked up and down (and even ran around a bit) as we searched for all kinds of beachy boy treasures!  We watched some surfers and paddle boarders catch some waves (I was a bit jealous) and we met some really nice people as we combed the sand.

I realized that these little moments of spontaneous adventures are so incredibly important.  This right here is what being brave and choosing that as my word is all about:  having these moments!

To just pick up and go and do and be.  To enjoy the moments without worry or planning or anticipation!

To just take a leap of faith (in so many ways) and enjoy what happens!

I need to be brave this year in so many ways!  I need to let go and just enjoy the adventure and experience it for whatever it may be!

We need to especially enjoy one another and let everyone else just fall into place, whatever place that may be!  Linc is only little for so long!  These types of moments and activities, the ones that don’t require anything but time and a car ride are the ones that matter the most!

So this year, I choose Brave!  I chose brave for all aspects of my life!  Brave in business:  take risks and push the boundaries, get out of my comfort zone and DO!  Brave in faith:  volunteer, get involved and start living with HIS purpose in mind.  Brave in family:  let go of the anticipation and the worry and just go and have FUN!  Be care free and spontaneous!  Maybe even break some rules!

How about you?  What’s your word for this year?