April: Reflection & Rejuvenation

Photo courtesy of Nikki McClure’s 2010 Calendar

Is it just me or are the months of 2010 flying by?

Let’s see what I’m most proud of in March:

1. First, I managed to make it through a really stressful month pretty unscathed. Wow. Just looking back over my calendar makes my stomach clench. I had a film crew in my classroom for two days, I had to attend a very heart-wrenching family funeral, I had to speak at the school board meeting, I had to produce my neighborhood newsletter, I had to take a difficult ESL certification test, and I traveled to Indiana, West Texas, New York, and Boston.
2. I also followed through on lots of my specific goals: eliminating at least two commitments in my life, as a way to make a clearing that allows me to pursue my life dream and make more time for relaxing, finished most my work before we left for spring break, exercised regularly, starting a nightly Relaxation Ritual that includes 15 minutes of yoga, started really tracking my cycle, planned a fun Bocce ball party for friends, went to an acupuncturist, and made serious progress on our fence project.
3. Most importantly, I’ve managed to keep my calendar a lot more open and relaxed in April and May. Ya-hoo!

Speaking of April, here are my goals for the new month:

1. Get our fence finished, buy backyard furniture, and create a potting area. Now is the best time to be outside in Houston!
2. Start researching birth options in Houston (by getting recommendations from friends/acquaintances), start visiting birthing centers and hospitals, and start exploring the home birth option.
3. Start practicing Spanish for at least 20 minutes every day after school.
4. Try to increase the frequency of our sexual intimacy.
5. Work with my friends to plan an awesome Teach For America 10-year reunion for the teachers who taught in South Louisiana in 2000.
6. Start reading books about pregnancy (I’m pretty much finished with books about conception).
7. Start a peer-observation program at my school.
8. Maintain my Relaxation Ritual and stop adding things to my calendar.
9. Start walking after dinner.
10. Truly appreciate everything in my life and immerse myself in gratitude.

Goals to keep in mind for next month:

• Beautify the area around one of the trees in our backyard