The last few years, my husband and I have tried to look at the upcoming year and have a theme.

I thought we weren’t ‘theme-people’. Actually, themed birthday parties, Halloween Parties, Cookie Parties. Well, maybe we do like a good theme  to communicate our idea; set expectations.

When thinking about the multitude of decisions and time in a year, having an over-arching theme, a simple mantra, that changes as we change and evolve, has proved to be helpful. When we think about decisions we make, how we spend our resources, and the direction we want our family to move, we like to have a mantra.

2015 was The-Year-Of-Less. We really focused on getting rid of the superfluous and unnecessary, creating Margin. We’ve implemented more minimalism in our lives, including ridding ourselves of carpet, which allows us to live more simply. Simplification (The-Year-Of-Less), allows us Margin to live more fully.

Quality.

Quality: an enigma? Not at all. Quality by focus on the things that work best, adjusting when necessary — choosing to let the rest go. Not saying yes to the volunteer position, to the invitation, to the event because of obligation, but choosing to be present when you are there. Choosing to not settle. We’re choosing to put our family first and not accept less.

What constitutes quality? Quality may differ from person to person, but when it comes down to it: quality makes your heart happy. It is not just an ‘okay choice’ — it’s something to write home about. It’s better than just okay — it’s brilliant! It lights curiosity, imagination, and challenges you to be a better person.

So there it is. We’ve already focused on whittling down what we’re involved in, now we’ll be focusing on making what we do better.

What defines Quality for you?