April was a great month. But it was a busy month, a weird month, a month full of unexpected joys and unexpected strangeness. Lots of things happened in my life and on my blog in April, but what didn’t happen was gratitude.
So here I am again, in May, coming back to giving thanks. And we’re gonna cover ALL OF APRIL because it’s time to get back on track, y’all.
1. In April, I went home.
There are so many things to be grateful for in New Hampshire. I’m grateful for my brother’s ridiculously good cooking (you haven’t lived until you’ve had banana-Cadbury Caramel egg-brownies, and yes, he made them up), for the icy cold ocean, for my smart and interesting nephew, for New Girl with my mom and theology over eggs at a real NH diner with my dad.
2. In April, I “came out.”
Sure, I’ve been pretty, generally, vaguely “out” for awhile. Being queer hasn’t really been a secret for me for a long time. But in April, I finally put together some words about what it’s like to be queer and love Jesus. It was scary, and fun, and a relief. I’m damn grateful that that’s over, though.
3. In April, I signed up for another half-marathon
I spent almost a whole year unable to run because of injuries. I am so, so grateful that my legs can run again. And frankly, everyone around me is grateful that I’m running again. I’m nicer when I run.
4. In April, I read a lot of good books
I am so grateful for Christian feminists, for monks, and YES I am STILL and ALWAYS grateful for Stephen “The Boss” King. Learning to read again for fun after graduate school has been a much longer process than I thought it would be. I’m grateful that I got through so much good material this month.
5. In April, I killed my rosemary plant
Bye, darling.
I’m real grateful for my spider plants that I have had since high school y’all, that refuse to die even when I relentless and aggressive neglect them. Some of us are just built for low-maintenance plants, yo.
6. In April, I got brave in therapy
I’ve been seeing my therapist just once a month for over a year now, partly because I’m doing pretty OK, and partly because therapy is *expensive guys*. Well, in April I got brave and asked my therapist if she’d be able to offer a lower rate so that I could go more often. She didn’t hesitate. I’m grateful for her generosity, and I’m particularly grateful for my women’s Psalms Bible study that gave me pep-talks and gave me the courage to ask.
7. And in April, I officiated the wedding of my best friend.
I’ve known Rebecca since I was six. We’ve been through shit and back together. When you know someone for that long, there’s no fooling around – we know each other’s gifts and weirdness and all the strange phases we went through in college… and high school… and middle school. Being able to stand up there and officiate her wedding to this beautiful, kind, generous, gracious man was probably the Biggest Deal of my adult life. “Gratitude” isn’t enough of a word for how that feels. For now I guess it’ll have to do.
April was full of gratefulness.
And now! On to May!
On Fridays, Leanna Coyle-Carr celebrates Weekly Gratitudes with the Gratitudes blogging team! Some weeks I try and join her – follow the link to #LinkUp with her and the other fabulous writers in the group!
