One Little Word

Ali Edwards challenges us to choose a single word to focus on for the year - read all about it on her blog. After much consideration, I have chosen my word: cultivate

Dictionary.com offered the following as the first definition, and it seems to capture everything I am thinking for my word:

"cul⋅ti⋅vate   /ˈkʌltəˌveɪt/ [kuhl-tuh-veyt]
–verb (used with object), -vat⋅ed, -vat⋅ing.
1. to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.
2. to use a cultivator on.
3. to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) by labor and attention.
4. to produce by culture: to cultivate a strain of bacteria.
5. to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine: to cultivate a singing voice.
6. to promote the growth or development of (an art, science, etc.); foster.
7. to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.).
8. to seek to promote or foster (friendship, love, etc.).
9. to seek the acquaintance or friendship of (a person).

Aside from the obvious of gardening - I hope to have an even better one this year than last year - it applies to all areas of my life. Ken and I are both embarking on new businesses and would like to cultivate success in those areas. Raising children is a continual effort at cultivation, as is making and keeping friendships. I am hoping to cultivate an entirely new system for photos and scrapbooking with Stacy's LOM class. I could go on and on, but I think you get the drift. I really liked Ali's choice of "nurture" as her word, but as she pointed out, it's a soft word. It is perfect for her, but I needed something a little stronger, more wilful, thus I chose cultivate.

I'm trying to figure out how I can get my children to participate in this by choosing their own words . . .