APRIL 2023!

 QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

"Without effort, your talent is nothing more than unmet potential.
Enthusiasm is common; endurance is rare.
There are no shortcuts to excellence!"
~Angela Duckworth, Grit

Victories, Big and Small:

• I completed my most challenging school semester ever - hooray!!
• Nearly done with my required counseling sessions... (didn't have much to talk about at first, but it's gotten better).
• I asked for help when I needed it and asked for second opinions when I needed them.  (God, friends, and family came through repeatedly.  And Missy, the kids' counselor, who helped me out with a last minute LPC interview project!)
• Improved at pressing into the hard things instead of procrastinating!
• Interviewed and was accepted with two Practicum/Internship sites - yay!  Chose the best fit for my goals.

Partial Successes/Areas for Improvement:

• WW was on point 3 out of the 4 weeks in April, but you can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time with sugar.  My May plan is daily tracking and limiting sweets to one day a week.
• I want to improve at thinking on my feet and not having panicked brain fog when I get an unexpected question.

Memories:

• Not pictured:  Lots of rain and a few tornado alarms this month.  Wednesday walks and Hideaway dinner with Kristin!  Miss K's volleyball games starting back up. J&C moving back here from Texas.  Several CCU role plays and group projects.  Helping Sarah Elizabeth with her CV and essays for the CRNA program.  Lots of good talks with friends.
• April Pics, Part 1 = CAVA and catching up with my Tulsa besties.  Tulip Farm with Rach and the niece and nephews.  Easter dinner in the Wilsons' backyard (*the Youngs were also there but won't fit in a square pic). Miss K's Presidential Tea.  Gaillardia Easter brunch and lots of Avengers talk with Jaceman.  Attending the CHA Easter program for the first time in years.

• April Pics, Part 2 = Red Rock with the Tulsa crew. Parker Elizabeth's 2nd birthday party!  Lunch and pondering a freelance career change with Jenni. Quail Creek dinner with Mom's cousins and my cousins.  Tman's 16th birthday.  Interviews with Debra (Restore) and Shawn (New Vision).

Listened To:

• The three audiobooks mentioned HERE
• The usual podcasts + Craig's Leadership Podcast & the Big Boo Patreon podcast =)

Lessons Learned:

• From personal experience - Traumatic grief sometimes manifests as aggression and impatience... there may be A LOT more to the story than we realize at first impression.  An important thing to remember for counseling.
• From Chet - I already bring more counseling strengths to the table than I was giving myself credit for... Sometimes you have to have the courage to change course... And the answer is always no if you don't ask!
• From Jill (my counselor) - Trust your gut instinct and intuition.
• From Angela Duckworth (Grit author) - The value of "deliberate practice," something I plan to implement with writing over the next year
• From Craig and Donald Miller - It is good for committed Christians to be intentional leaders with solid financial goals. I am capable/competent to navigate and learn all that comes with being self-employed, and I plan to step up and grow in my leadership and business skills!

Happy Sunday, family and friends, and I hope you have an excellent month ahead!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤