July 2024 Monthly Wrap-Up
This month, a lot of my energy was sucked up by medical- and music-related stuff. While there were good days, I also fluctuated a lot in July between feeling depressed, lonely, and emotional. I did a lot of marketing (for my business) and drank my weight in lavender matchas. And at the end of the month, Joshua and I flew to Mississippi to visit Grandpa for a week (plus my aunt and uncle, and some other family)! Despite physical exhaustion and work stress, it made me so happy to be there with them.
This month I’m…
Reading: The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, Andrew Leland. Miracle at St. Anna, James McBride. Jacob I Have Loved, Katherine Paterson. One Hundred Saturdays, Michael Frank. The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon. A Ring of Endless Light and Troubling A Star, Madeleine L’Engle. Exactly Where You Need to Be, Amelia Diane Coombs (reread). Starry Eyes, Jenn Bennett (reread). Amelia Unabridged, Ashley Schumacher (reread). Love, Theoretically, Ali Hazelwood. Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech. Kids of Appetite, David Arnold. 13 total
Listening to: My summer playlist (including some new songs I’ve been waiting on for a very long time, like Dead Man by Alessia Cara and Appalachia by Rebecca Rhea). Family Business album by Lawrence.
Watching: TV shows–Cheer season two. Movies–10 Things I Hate About You (rewatch); Captain America: Winter Soldier (rewatch).
Writing: I did my usual volunteer work with my church and the Diamonds Conference, although both were very little this month. I enjoyed voice and songwriting; Joshua and I filmed a Sibling Tag – Eight Years Later YouTube video; and I released my latest original single, Fun, and performed a little (one bigger gig was canceled extremely last-minute, but see a couple of other performances here and here). And I worked quite a bit on my book–it’s now over 40,000 words, and I researched and thought a lot about some big topics.
Grateful for: No holiday grief. Colorful, fun graphics. Making Hot Wheels obstacle courses with traffic cones. Madeleine L’Engle. Hyperfixating on teaching myself Gatsby vocal melodies by ear. Much-needed reassuring text conversations with a friend. Fireflies. Comparing twirly dresses with a two-year-old friend. Coffee shop energy. God providing something specific I asked for. Spending time with little (first) cousins (once removed). Always so much laughter here. Joshua’s and my sibling telepathy/humor. A friend sending me money to help with the cost of my life-sustaining medical supplies (that the healthcare system should be providing me, but, you know #murica). Chaotic adventures with my family. Spending time with Joshua.
What did you do this month?
