August 2024 Monthly Wrap-Up
August started out unexpectedly horrible as Windy, my cat, was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. She was very sick and I was told, coincidentally during a time when I was already really sick due to not having my formula or one of my meds, she may not have long to live (and I cried for days because I love her so much and I would do literally anything for her). For a couple of weeks, my life was consumed with taking her to the vet almost every day (including her being in the hospital for a few nights) and learning all about her new at-home diet, meds, and subQ fluids. Thankfully, she is stable now and acting much more like her old self. As long as she continues to respond well to treatment, my vet is hopeful she will have six months or even longer.
The rest of the month, I had some really busy days spending time with family and friends. They were fun, but a lot on my body. I also enjoyed some quiet stretches of days where I was able to stay home and settle back into my usual life routine and rhythms, doing things like working (I onboarded four new clients at the start of the month, which maybe wasn’t the best idea), writing letters, reading, working on music and my book, catching up on things around the house, etc. My current sleep schedule that my hypersomnia is forcing me into is frustrating and making the days feel like they’re flying by.
This month I’m…
Reading: The Titanic Survivors Book Club, Timothy Schaffert. From Garden to Glory: How Understanding God’s Story Changes Yours, Courtney Doctor. Into the Sunken City, Dinesh Thiru. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell (reread). The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal and How to Love The World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, James Crews. The Ballad of Darcy and Russell, Morgan Matson. Pecking Order, Kevin McColley. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume. The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters. The Grandest Game, Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Four Thousand Paws: Caring For The Dogs of The Iditarod, Lee Morgan. 12 total
Listening to: The new Lawrence album, the new Wild Rivers album, Josephine from Oh Wonder’s new solo album, Avery Anna’s album, Sabrina’s new album. People Who Are Somehow Important to My Wellbeing podcast.
Watching: YouTube–Call Me Cherry, Call Me Emma, Positively Emerald. Movies–The Young Woman and the Sea.
Writing: My usual volunteer work with my church ramped up this month, consuming more of my time and energy as we’re restructuring some things (which is exciting!). I also wrote letters, worked on writing some piano arrangements for an upcoming show, and posted a vlog on YouTube. And in the second half of the month, I was able to dig back into working on my book.
Grateful for: The kitty eating more, playing more, getting in trouble, getting good updates from the vet, being active, looking fluffier (literally 3/4 of my daily gratitude journal entries this month are related to the cat’s health, lol). Friends bringing Italian ice for me. Hanging out in the dance studio. Flowers. Evening rainstorm vibes. Meeting other creatives. New growth and life within my church. Finally getting back into a more normal routine. The gift of prayer. Clean blankets. Watching lifelong family friends grow up. A friend hand-delivering me a matcha. Ice cream dates with my favorite toddlers. A Saturday at home.
What did you do in August?
