I love the practice of sitting down and listing one or more good things that happened to me every day. Some days have multiple good things, other days can be a struggle to find even one happy moment. But there is always something good in every day, even the hard days. Here is my good things list for March:
1 – A negative Covid test! I woke up with a sore throat (but no other symptoms) and took a test to be on the safe side. Not sure why my throat feels sore, though.
2 – Kim and Penn winning The Amazing Race! I was really pulling for them to win. They were so fun to watch, and Kim’s struggles with anxiety throughout the race were so relatable.
3 – A sleepover with Chip and Lucy. I came over to my mom’s house around lunchtime, worked for a bit on the couch while the dogs tried their best to distract me, and then we enjoyed playtime and snuggling in the evening.
4 – Having the day off. I kept thinking today was Saturday so it was really delightful to keep reminding myself that it was only Friday. I got a great haircut at Supercuts and finished two books.
5 – Lucy! She is just so much fun to wake up to. She bounds around my feet, so excited to see me and start a new day. It’s the cutest!
6 – Starting season 2 of Love is Blind. This show is crazy and I love it.
7 – Having a Monday off with no plans is the ultimate luxury. I got some reading and blogging done. And it was my first night back with my girls!
8 – I made a delicious new recipe, chicken and gravy. I served it over mashed potatoes. So good!
9 – A great creative brainstorming session with Bri. We got a lot done and Bri’s husband made us a delicious dinner.
10 – Finally starting to feel like I’m on the other side of this cold. The incessant coughing at night for a week has been rough.
11 – Taking a lovely long nap in the afternoon and then watching four hours of The Bachelor in the evening.
12 – Game night! We played Monopoly and Scattegories. Dominic (my 7-year-old nephew) did amazing at Scattegories, which can be a difficult game concept to grasp for some kids. I also made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that everyone raved about. (I think the molasses addition kicked these cookies to another level!)
13 – A lazy Sunday. I slept in, did a lot of reading, and finished Love is Blind.
14 – Dinner with my cousin Rachel, her daughter Mia, and my mom. My mom and I surprised Rachel with a birthday gift since her birthday was the previous week.
15 – Spending most of my day working on a project for work that used my brain in an entirely new way and made me feel really good.
16 – Book club night! We met at a Greek restaurant downtown and had a really thoughtful discussion about The Nothing Man.
17 – Celebrating Chip’s birthday! He turned four the day before. I stopped by in the evening to give him his birthday gift, which he proceeded to destroy while I was there.
18 – Having a relaxing Friday evening. I made homemade nachos, watched The Bachelor finale, and painted my nails.
19 – Finally selling my desk! My mom and stepdad came over during the handoff. The buyer and my stepdad hauled the desk down three flights of stairs. Glad I didn’t have to do any of the hard work!
20 – Yellow corn from Publix is BACK IN STOCK. It has been out of stock for months and is one of my favorite foods. I bought two large bags, and was tempted to get more just in case it goes out of stock again.
21 – Mikaela gave birth to Eleni! She’s a tiny little spitfire, just over 6 lbs, and I can’t wait to snuggle her.
22 – Phone calls with Mom always make me feel happy and more centered.
23 – My new sit/stand desk arrived early in the morning! I was able to quickly get an appointment with TaskRabbit for Saturday afternoon, so that I don’t have to worry about putting it together myself. Yay!
24 – I had a really good meeting with my director today. She told me she’s been really impressed with how much I’ve taken on lately. It felt really good to know that I’m not screwing this up.
25 – Taking a really long and satisfying nap (Half-day Fridays are the best!) and then watching Brooklyn 99 and painting my nails in the evening.
26 – Mom’s bump is just a cyst! Nothing to worry about! What a goddamn relief. We celebrated with brunch at The Library.
27 – A reading date with Amber at The Blend. It was my first time going there and not getting one of their coffee flights! I ordered an iced caramel latte and it was delish.
28 – My first day using my sit/stand desk. It’s going to take some time to get used to standing up throughout the day (I need to invest in a pair of comfortable, supportive slippers!) but I love having the option to sit or stand when I want.
29 – Lucy’s birthday! This little lady is a whole year old, and I can’t believe it.
30 – I won employee of the month for my entire division! It was a huge shock because I’ve been battling some major imposter syndrome lately. It is super validating to know that my director has been so impressed with my work so far that she recommended me for this award.
31 – A delicious chocolate ice cream cone after dinner. The best!
I’m so glad that your new job is going so well! It sounds like you’re really kicking it!!
Thank you, friend! It was super validating to win EOM!
I love the style of this post – combines the way I do a Sentence a Day & my thankful thursday into one post 🙂
That baby!!! & what a fun & unique name.
Penn & Kim – I still am so excited they won!!!
Yes, it does! I have a one-line-a-day journal, too. 🙂
Congrats on employee of the month! What a key time to get that with the anxiety you’ve been feeling as you adjust to this new role. It’s a very tangible reminder that you are kicking butt! But I know it’s hard to internalize that. Just keep reminding yourself that you are doing great. I have a folder of “feel good” emails – I file positive emails/compliments there and I will read through them on days when I am questioning myself. Imposter syndrome is so difficult to overcome. I’ve struggled with it on and off during my career, too.
There were a lot of great moments during your month. I should try to do this in one of the upcoming months!
It was so validating to win employee of the month! I sometimes get sucked in this cycle of negative thinking when things feel too good to be true. And that’s how they feel right now, so it’s gratifying to be recognized for my hard work and realize I’m doing a pretty darn good job!
This is such a fun habit! I might start it for May. Or should I go back and do old ones for April?
Corn! What a random thing to be out of.
Congrats on the talk with your director and employee of the month. I am so proud of you!
It was so weird how long Publix was out of corn. I kept trying to find out if there was some sort of crazy corn shortage, but it was just happening for this one specific type of corn that I wanted from Publix. WEIRD.
Thanks, friend! 🙂
Oh wow! Employee of the month and you just started your new position – how awesome is that?!?!?
Also, I had NO idea the Amazing Race was still on. Oh, I used to love that show. That and the super-old House Hunters with Suzanne-someone as the host. Mem’ries. 😉
I kind of do something like this in the reflection app that I have… each evening, I put in something that brought me joy (some days, this is definitely easier than others…) and also tend to write a brief recap of the day, if I have the time/energy. I haven’t looked back but I’ve been doing it consistently for a few months now and it would be really interesting to compile some of them! Thanks for the idea!
It was wild to receive employee of the month. I wasn’t expecting it at all!
You should definitely compile a few of your reflections from months past for a post. It can definitely be difficult to find the good in days that are hard, but there is something so peaceful about the process of doing so.
Again, I am catching up on my Feedly… comment galore incoming, just FYI.
It sounds like you had a really good march with some real highlights! So happy for you. 🙂