Blink. Or rather, don’t blink. You will miss the whole month. That’s generally how I feel about time. Time moves so fast. I try and pay attention to the small moments, and it still feels fast.

After slogging through March, I was determined to make this month count. And count it did….

Here’s where things stand after four months:

Things I want to do weekly:

• Exercise 4x a week: CHECK. 17 total visits.
• Give kids weekly allowance: Yes! I was a day or so late a few times but I stayed on top of it. And we had one trip to the toy store to use our allowance money–it was awesome! The girls are proud of their savings and they have given to tzedakah without hesitation every week.
• Do one act of kindness each week: Time to reframe this goal. I am not sure what I meant when I committed to an act of kindness. I think I hoped I would leave flowers anonymously for my friends or send them things in the mail or surprise them at work. Just typing up what I thought I would do, I see the inherent impracticality. Plus it makes acts of kindness lumped together with consumption and transactions and that was not my intent. In April, I tried to pay attention to what was happening in my friends’ lives (marriage challenges, success and stress at work, general life challenges) and stay in touch about what was happening, checking in and lending support from afar. Does this count as a direct act of kindness? I’m not entirely sure.
• Read one full length article in a magazine every week: I lost track of the reading this month. Truly, I think I read lots of news articles but nothing full length. So…NOT EXACTLY.

Things to do every month:

• Regular library trips: Logged at least one trip to the library with the girls and we are still swimming in books. The girls remarked that our library time is on Saturday mornings so I think we’re on our way to having them regard the library as a regular feature of our lives.
• 2 Yoga classes: Huzzah! Finally made it to one class. I have been watching the class schedule for a nearby studio and plan to try it out soon.
• Read 2 books: Big movement in the reading department this month!
  • Raising the Floor by Andy Stern
  • Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Write 2 blog posts: YES! Two posts! The urge to write is coming back the more writing I do. I was in a writing rut for much of 2016. It is so satisfying to process lots of feelings as I did in these two essays. Read more:
  • She would have been 70…
  • Passover minus the struggle
• Choose outside: YES! No hikes but spent a lot of time outside as soon as the weather turned sunny. Anxious for spring and summer…
• Savings: No movement on this yet.
• 1 date night: We did have dinner our with friends–does this count? I didn’t initiate any date nights which means we didn’t have any.

Other goals:

• Got back to Duolingo after a two month hiatus. Still working through the beginning of basic French but have to commit to regular engagement.
• Made my second blood donation on the last day of the month!

May is a month of birthdays and celebrations and hopefully sunshine. And productivity….