Thriving in July

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I am continuing with my quest to thrive each month and here's my review of July.  July was a bit of a challenging month, but, that only made me even more determined to thrive.  After all, thriving when things are going smoothly is easy, but, the real test is to thrive when things are not quite as smooth, isn't it?

Spiritual:

In July, I prayed...a lot!  Much more than I usually do.   I am a firm believer in the power of prayer.  Not only did I pray, others - family and friends, including blog friends - also prayed on my behalf, which was a blessing in and of itself.  At least two of the issues I prayed for were answered in a favorable manner for which I am very grateful.  I am still praying for a third issue, which relates to my daughter's employment.  I think the challenges I faced this month emphasized how seeking refuge in spirituality helps.  I posted about counting my blessing about 10 days into the month and I think I thrived in the spiritual aspects of my life in July, both with praying and having those prayers answered.

Daughter:

July was a challenging month for my daughter, too.  At the beginning of the month, she found out that the grant funding 70% of her job was eliminated as a result of federal budget cuts, effective the end of August.  Working 30% of her time would make her ineligible to receive employer paid benefits such as health insurance.  While she can pay and get her own insurance, it would be an added cost.  

Fortunately, she had already decided to return home at the end of August and had not renewed her apartment lease, giving the apartment management a 60-day notice (she was required to give only a 30-day notice, but, the apartment management kept asking her if she was going to renew her lease and offered her a discount on the July rent if she let them know earlier).  But, she planned her move to take effect at the end of August.  Then, the apartment management asked her if she could leave on August 1st or by the end of the first week of August (in which case, she'd have to pay a week of rent and get renter's insurance for that week).  She agreed to leave on August 1st and brought forward her date of vacating her apartment.  She had to pack her stuff, dispose of all her furniture, and arrange for friends to help her move her boxes to the moving container as she has no car and her foot is not healed enough for her to drive a rental car.

Even so, she was able to rise to the challenge and get her belongings packed up and transported to the moving container with the help of her friends and work colleagues.  

In the meantime, I was able to provide her with virtual support from my end, being a sounding board for her plans and offering helpful suggestions.  I think our relationship thrived during the month of challenge.  Daughter is home now, we unloaded the boxes from the moving container and brought everything home during the first five days of August.  There's a mountain of 45 boxes and at least 10 miscellaneous items piled up in the living room.  Our next challenge will be to unpack those boxes and find homes for her belongings.  There will be some decluttering happening, too. 

Health & Well Being:

July continued to be a challenging month where my health and well being were concerned. I had a cystoscopy done on the first of the month, followed by a blood test the following week and a CT Scan the next week.  That was followed by an appointment with the Urologist to go over the scan results and I was so thankful and relieved to hear that everything was clear and the reason I have microscopic blood in my urine is probably due to the aspirin I take as a blood thinner.  The clear scan report was an answer to one of the prayers mentioned in the spiritual section above and I feel that, as a result, I thrived where my health was concerned.  .  

Family, Friends, & Community:

I had quite a few social interactions in July. too, with phone calls, emails, and texts, as usual.

In addition, neighbor S brought over some gifts and treats and, of course, I was provided with the opportunity to serve my community by being called for Jury Duty, even though I didn't have to actually report in person (even after being told to report in person, initially).

I'm pleased with the amount of interaction with my family, friends, and community, in July and I feel that this area of my life is thriving.  I've already returned neighbor S's visit in August, and had a long telephone chat with a friend I haven't seen or spoken to in a long time, so, August promises to be a thriving month, as well.

Finances:

I was able to keep my finances maintained in July.  I kept to my July grocery budget and was able to cover some extra medical expenses for Dancer.  I think I was able to thrive where my finances were concerned in July, keeping to my budget in most categories.  Going forwards, expenses will increase, partly because my daughter is now living at home.  I am fully prepared for that.

Time Management:

I continued to make progress with my time management in July.  I still procrastinated, however, but, things got done.  I think I did well enough and I'll settle for that; not sure if I can say that I thrived in this area, though, as there's room to improve.  

Leisure/Hobbies/Crafting:

In July, leisure/hobbies/crafting activities consisted of blogging, reading, gardening, watching videos online, and participating in July's monthly photo challenge.  I feel that I thrived in this area of my life.

House:

In July, I was in maintenance mode as I maintained the progress I had made, earlier.  My biggest accomplishment was tidying my bedroom, which led to smaller tidying projects in other areas of the house, as well, as I tried to find homes for some of the items I had stored in my bedroom.  I think I'm making good progress in this area of my life.

Garden:

The garden continued to thrive in July, too.  I continued to pick tomatoes, lemons, chilies, etc.  I went over my Tier 1 (lowest rate) water allotment during the June-July billing period, but, that's the price to pay for gardening in our arid climate.  The garden will wind down in August.       

Over all, July  was a challenging month, but, I think I managed to meet and overcome those challenges to thrive and live well.  I am hoping that August will be a better month.  As I've stated earlier, everything is not quite how I would like it to be, but, I am staying focused on the positives, making the best of things, and thriving to the extent that I can.

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