Spring has sprung! April has been bringing me lots of nature, blooming flowers, birds, and sunshine. It has been a super busy month – I worked 18 days straight – but, perhaps surprisingly, I haven’t been as burnt out as one might expect.

These days I feel I’m better at refilling my cup, finding joy in the every day little things that one might take for granted. Or perhaps I have a better understanding of why I do the things I do. Or perhaps I have a stronger support network than I’ve ever had before, and we are all helping each other and giving out positive, supportive vibes.

I feel I have made progress, or at least, I feel I’m noticing my progress now. Days of sorting out life admin, mornings of checking off lists, and evenings of authentic conversations has brought a lot of peace this month. So, here is April’s gratitude journal:

1 Flexibility: grateful for flexibility today. Whilst waiting for documents I was able to do some laundry and tidy a few things up around the house. So I’m grateful for the flexibility that enables me to do this, as by the evening I was pretty shattered but clear headed as I knew I didn’t have to do any chores.

2 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today.

Had to go into the office to work today, which is unusual since lockdown and also being a Saturday. But super grateful for colleagues today: a colleague chauffeuring and guiding me on my potential drive to the office and back, colleagues being super helpful and responsive to queries, colleagues bringing in so many snacks and treats, a colleague getting Deliveroo for the team, colleagues toasting hot cross buns for everyone. Super grateful for these wonderful people – the best bunch of people to go into work with on a weekend.

3 Self care: grateful for self care Sundays. Had a lie in so I’m grateful to catch up on some snooze times, put oil in my hair, and cleansed and exfoliated my skin. Grateful for little relaxing things that are good for both body and mind.

4 Blankets: grateful for blankets today, as it was really cold today. Grateful I can easily and quickly get myself warm and cosy.

5 Birds: grateful for birds today. Saw a fair few birds in the garden hopping about, enjoying the grass and tree branches. They are quite adorable animals.

6 Music: grateful for music today. Listening to some good tunes while working, listening to some old school tunes too and surprised how much certain songs remind me of past times. Music is a powerful thing.

7 Growth: grateful for growth today. Trying to look after myself, put myself first, and not indulge in old ways that no longer serve me. I also had an interesting conversation and was informed that I’ve grown, and am able to look at the past to help traverse the present and better understand how things really are. Grateful for this conversation and grateful for growth.

8 Sleep: grateful for sleep today. Work has been super super busy, so I’m grateful for some extra shut eye to recuperate.

9 A few things today. Grateful for colleagues for feeding me, supporting me, validating me, and just being there for me – they are all great people. Also grateful for me, driving through unknown territory and ignoring my sat nav as it was unaware of road closures. Grateful for the driving skills and confidence coming back, it kind of is like riding a bike – you don’t lose the knowledge.

10 Birds: grateful for birds today, as I saw some flying ahead, whistling their tunes. It’s quite soothing hearing them and knowing they are nearby.

11 Lists: grateful for lists today, helping me keep on track with what I need to be doing. Grateful that I can feel less stressed and more organised with just having some lists – it’s the small things I suppose.

12 Skincare: grateful for skincare today. A little act of self care goes a long way and I find it quite meditative actually. I try to carve out time each evening to do it so it becomes a healthy and relaxing habit of sorts.

13 Radiators: grateful for radiators today, as it is still quite chilly. The heating was off and I was sitting with gloves and a blanket trying to keep warm. In the end we switched on the heating for a little bit and the radiators were lovely and toasty.

14 Colleagues: grateful for my colleagues today. All hands on deck investigating and sorting things out, the support and camaraderie is unlike any other I’ve experienced in a workplace. Super grateful for these inspirational and hardworking people; supporting, encouraging, and thanking one another. What a wonderful work culture.

15 Sunshine: grateful for some sunshine today. Feeling so warm and cosy, and the heating is off, the warmth just revitalises me.

16 The Ocean at the End of the Lane: grateful for this story today. We saw the play adaptation today and I’ve read the book previously, and there were a lot of emotions felt today. So many emotions, perhaps a little triggering, like an emotion punch to the gut. But, oddly enough, I’m grateful for this beautiful story and this beautiful adaptation.

17 A few things today.

Grateful for nature, sunshine, and flowers as we spent a bit of time outside wandering around some gardens. Grateful for culture and history, as we visited a historic house today. And grateful for cream soda, as I had some today and it reminded me of my childhood drinking it.

18 A few things today. Grateful for sleep today, as I had such an epic lie in. Grateful for blossoms because after visiting a lovely place and seeing blossom trees yesterday – lo and behold – blossoms have sprung from one of the trees in our garden! Wish it and it may manifest! Also grateful for my sewing machine, as I did a lot of sewing this long weekend, including sewing up our really long curtains and we have now finally put up our lovely curtains. And also grateful for a podcast I’ve been listening to, hearing the strong sisterly friendship of females simply supporting and celebrating each other.

19 Reading: grateful for reading, as I read a new chapter in a book and it was a lot more interesting than the previous chapter. It also really helped me fall asleep super quick.

20 Birdsong: grateful for birdsong today. I open a window every morning, and as soon as I swing it open, a borrage of birdsong enters the house. It’s so soothing and comforting, I love it and am so grateful for it every morning. It signals to me that I am home and I am safe.

21 Sunshine: grateful for sunshine today. This morning and afternoon the sun was streaming into the kitchen, giving a lovely warm hugging glow. It was lovely basking in the warm sunshine.

22 Biscuits: grateful for biscuits today. I was too full after dinner last night to have my biscuit dessert and I remembered it at lunch today and dunked it in my tea. I do love a good tea-dunked biscuit!

23 Productivity: grateful for productivity today. Bit of a life admin day, looking into things, ordering things, youtubing how to do things etc. Very productive and useful to check off my to do list that has been getting ever longer and longer. Now it’s less overwhelming and I feel a large sense of self love through this act of service.

24 A few things today.

Grateful for lively conversation, catching up on a double date. Grateful for tulips and blooming flowers, as we saw loads of beautiful tulips. Grateful for a flower lesson and being informed on what’s actually in the garden. And grateful for finally finding a statue that we’ve been trying to find for months!

25 Lemon juice: grateful for lemon juice today. We used it to clean some mugs – and wow – does it do a fantastic job! The mugs are almost as good as new!

26 A few things today.

Grateful for the hubby, as he got me my favourite flowers early as they won’t be available for my upcoming birthday. Grateful for tulips, as they are my favourite flowers and they are so bright and colourful and cheerful. And grateful for progress, as I’m better able to communicate boundaries and state what I’m capable of doing in a given timeframe so that others can better manage expectations.

27 Progress: grateful for progress today. I had an honest conversation yesterday, and now I’ve had time to fully digest the contents of that conversation, I feel I’ve progressed and reduced previous bad behaviours/ habits. I still have some ways to go, but I feel I’ve almost eradicated the sources of the previous bad behaviours – so I feel like I made some epic progress.

28 Eco friendly stuff: grateful for this today. We had someone survey the property aiming to make it more eco friendly and it’s looking promising. Grateful for companies opting for more eco friendly products and visiting homes to see if they’re viable for these products.

29 Stretching: grateful for stretching today, opening up the shoulders, back, and chest. I realise that I slouch a lot and my lower back aches sometimes, most likely due to my sedentary lifestyle, so I’m grateful for stretching. Hopefully it can counteract the slouch and aches.

30 Nature:

Grateful for nature today, as we visited a nice garden and there were lots of trees, flowers, and sunshine. Listening to the flowing water was really peaceful and tranquil too. Grateful to go on walks and explore nature with the hubby.