April 2024 Monthly Wrap-Up

In April, I went on sabbatical. I took the entire month off work and passed the days spending time with people I love; working on personal creative projects (such as unexpectedly starting to write a new book); and simply resting. I had three “big events” this month (aka pre-planned, multi-day things involving out-of-town friends or family). First, Hannah came in town to do some book promo events (for her new book Open Hands) at my brother’s college:

Next, Kristen and I flew to Oklahoma (a state I’d never been to before) to see Annabelle and celebrate her graduation from Army BCT at Fort Sill:

And third, Grandpa came to town for a week:

I also enjoyed spending additional time with friends and family, and I went to church, voice lessons, and doctor’s appointments like usual. Overall, it was a really nice month! Of course no month is perfect and there were still weird emotions and hard days, but I’m so thankful for everything I was able to do and experience during my sabbatical.

This month I’m…

Reading: Thirst, Mary Oliver. I Didn’t Do The Thing Today, Madeleine Dore. The Doldrums, Nicholas Gannon (reread). On Getting Out of Bed, Alan Noble. Lucky Wreck and You Are Here, Ada Limon. Destroy the Day, Brigid Kemmerer (DNF). Together Is A Beautiful Place, Bailey Hurley. If God Is Good, Randy Alcorn. Emily Wilde’s Map of The Otherworlds, Heather Fawcett. The Night War, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The Green Glass Sea and White Sands, Red Menace, Ellen Klages (rereads). Rift, Cait West. The Blood Years, Elana K. Arnold. The Gift of Asher Lev, Chaim Potok. 16 total

Listening to: My spring 2024 playlist. Benson Boone’s new album. Elle Cove’s Selfishly Inclined EP.

Watching: TV shows–Sex and the City season 1. Movies–The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Tangled; Pollyanna (rewatch).

Writing: I did my usual volunteer work for People Hope, the Diamonds Conference, and my church. I wrote five Escapril pieces; caught up on all my pen pal letters; and did lots of singing (but don’t ask about songwriting). I unexpectedly started writing a new (nonfiction) book and ended the month with a massive 18,000-word outline/brain dump. And while I didn’t get to work on fiction or photography this month like I had wanted, I did enjoy filming my sabbatical for YouTube.

Grateful for: Friends where you know all of each other’s best stories. The excitement of erasing my whiteboard to brainstorm a new book. Meeting interesting new people. This place of abundance. Feeling encouraged about my ability to travel. The gift of doing normal casual stuff. So many good conversations with a treasured mentor/friend. Hearing all of the birds outside my window. Time and space. Toddlers. Singing Disney princess music. Raspberry lemonade. The GREEN of April in Georgia. My new Matthew Henry commentary. Grandpa’s sense of humor (don’t get a big head). Days with less nausea.

What did you do in April? Have you ever taken a “sabbatical” or an extended vacation? I highly recommend it!!