Thriving in April

New Neptune Rose

I am continuing with my quest to thrive each month and here's my review of April:

Spiritual:

I ended March with a visit to the temple and I am counting that as part of my spiritual thriving in April, as well.  In addition, I spoke with the monks at the temple several times during the month, listened to chantings of blessings online, and kept my spiritual side thriving with daily prayers, meditation, and doing my best to live my life according to the teachings of my religion.  

Daughter:

My daughter, who had been with me from the 1st of November, left at the beginning of April.  I missed her when she left, but, I was happy that she was able to stay with me for as long as she did. We continue to keep in touch through daily phone calls, texts, and video chats.  I am happy to say that our relationship is thriving.  

Health & Well Being:

April was a relatively uneventful month where my health was concerned.  I didn't hear anything more about getting authorization for the referral to a specialist as these things seem to take a long time, these days (I'm planning to do a follow-up phone call in mid-May).  In the meantime, I scheduled two lab tests for upcoming doctors' appointments (which are scheduled later in May).  I didn't lose any weight in April, but, I maintained the weight loss from earlier, which makes me happy.   

Family, Friends, & Community:

I kept in touch with family and friends by phone (mostly), emails, texts, etc.  But, there were a few in-person visits, too, and lots of sharing of food.  One of my friends, who gave daughter a ride to the airport at the beginning of the month, brought me a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich when she came to pick up my daughter.  I had been invited to Easter lunch by my late friend A's family, but, I declined because there were other guests who had also been invited and I didn't feel comfortable about being without my mask among so many people.  Friend S  visited  on Easter Sunday and brought me a lovely dinner of Sri Lankan rice and curries.  Friend R visited me on Easter Monday and, later in the evening on Easter Monday, my late friend A's daughter visited and brought me a plate of food.  I participated in the blogging community, too, and interacted with some of my neighbors.  I'm pleased with the amount of interaction with my family, friends, and community, in April, and I feel that this area of my life is thriving.

Finances:

I was able to keep my finances maintained, more or less, in April.  I went over my grocery budget, mostly due to stocking up when deals were available.  However, I had unspent funds in the car gas budget to transfer and cover the additional grocery spending, so it all evened out in the end.  As one of my friends emailed me, "New month, New budget!"

Time Management:

I feel I did a little better with my time management in April, although I have procrastinated on paperwork, especially filing!  But, the things that needed to be done on time were done on time and I am counting that as a win.  There is room for improvement, however.  

Leisure/Hobbies/Crafting:

April's leisure/hobbies/crafting activities included reading, knitting, gardening, watching videos online, and participating in a monthly photo challenge.  I feel that I thrived in this area of my life. 

House:

I focused on spring cleaning in April and I am happy to say that I made a lot of progress on that front.  The house has been made presentable and that continues into May because I am finally having some much needed repairs done! I am thankful to have a home that is comfortable and pleasant and home maintenance will continue in May, too.

Garden:

The garden continued to thrive in April.  The flowers bloomed, the fruit trees started to set fruit, the first blueberries were picked, new seeds were planted, and I've posted garden updates all month!       

All in all, the month of April has been good and conducive to thriving.  Everything is not quite how I would like it to be, but, I am focused on the positives, making the best of things, and thriving to the extent that I can.

How was your April?   Were you able to attain some of the goals you had made for the month?