How I did on my goals for July

I know I'm posting this a bit late. I've had a busy but wonderful week! Before I get to my goals for August, here is a look back at how I did on the goals I had set for July.

As I mentioned when I first started blogging my monthly goals on here, it's so important to give yourself grace as you work toward these things. This was a month I needed a lot of grace for myself as the unexpected and tragic happened with my miscarriage 11 days into the month. Some days in the midst of grief these goals I had made felt like slaps in the face of failure as I just could not find it in myself to buck up and get them done. But after some time, they actually provided a little bit of a lifeline as I am trying to pick myself up off the floor so to speak and keep on.

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day.

I started and ended the month well on this one, but in the middle dealing with our miscarriage meant I just wasn't thinking about how much water I was drinking. Yet having set this as a goal kept it in my mind enough that I definitely did better than usual in this area this month. I've noticed a change in my skin from drinking water more faithfully.

2. Be in bed before 11 and be up before the kids in the morning.

I actually did better in this area in June than July. Many of the goals I set and wasn't able to keep this month don't really matter all that much to me in the grand scheme of things, but this is one I really missed and wish I could have maintained better. It is just so beneficial for me to have adequate sleep and to be awake before the kids.  I am trying to work my way back into discipline in this area. I have been very tired this month. There are a lot of reasons - staying up late crying to/with my husband about the baby, you're naturally more exhausted while grieving, and I wasn't getting good quality sleep at night with so much swirling through my mind. However, I have hope as I head into August that I will be able to get back on track in this.

3. Go camping.

Well, we visited my dad at a camp site, went to the beach there, fished, and roasted marshmallows over a campfire while singing some songs. Does that count?! ... I still want to officially camp in August. My sister-in-law has kindly offered us all the equipment we would need.

4. Spend some time each day playing with the kids.

This went okay. Really, I didn't think too much about it. All I know is we had a lot of great times together this month. I just didn't keep track of it.

5. Get the kids in the pool every day we can.

This has been one of the great joys of this month. In just one month's time both of my kids have gone from tentative and afraid to go in the pool to begging me multiple times a day to get in there. They have discovered the joy of swimming and both of them light up when they are in there. I'm surprised at how much both of them have learned. I am thrilled with their progress and it has been a lot of fun spending so much time together enjoying our pool. 

6. Run 3 times a week using the Couch-to-5k program.

This is the one I struggle the most with feeling like a failure. From the start I wasn't excited about it, but I started the first week and a bit. After the miscarriage happened, it was left behind. The doctor advised to take it easy for a while. In the last week or so as I've started to feel better I have been making exercise a priority again, but have only ran once.

7. Read 2 books.

Phew! I can redeem myself here. Done-zo. This month I read:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

My mother-in-law had talked to me about this book years ago. When she passed away a few years ago, it got passed along to me. I finally picked it up this month.

The book is about a year-long quest the author went on to become more happy through making resolutions each month she had to live by and it shares what she discovered along the way. It definitely had some interesting points and was a great catalyst at helping me evaluate some things in my life. I liked that she emphasized the need to be you and find what you actually find fun and enjoyable. I took some good things away from it.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I had seen this on the best sellers lists but didn't know anything about it. I had been hankering for an easy read and one day as I came out of the grocery store loaded down with grocery bags and kiddos, I saw this book on top of the stack at a little donation library there. Perfect. No ordering online or having to traipse two kids into the library - win! It was a thriller and a page-turner so that was great, but a definitely a bit dark and depressing.  

8. Date my husband.

As expected, this was a favourite part of this month. We started the month off with dinner and tickets to see James Vincent McMorrow at the Montreal Jazz Festival. It was lovely. A little over a week later, we miscarried our 3rd sweet baby. There weren't many other official dates this month, but because of the miscarriage we were able to spend a lot of extra time together just the two us (even if it was just at the hospital). This month of dates wasn't how I had envisioned it or would have chosen, but the heart of the goal was to be drawn closer together with the amazing man I'm married to, and that certainly happened. We have been through a lot over the years that we've been together and I've never been more grateful than now for the loving husband God gave me.

9. Finish the Judges Bible study.

This was an easy one to complete because I enjoy these studies so much. Oh Judges, what a book! I'm deeply grateful for Jen Wilkin and her studies like this. I learned SO much. I can't wait to start a new study in August. 



Finally, here are the items we checked off our Summer Bucket List in July:

* Sidewalk chalk our driveway
* Swim at the beach
* Attend VBS at church
* Build a sand castle

And we also repeated a few of the activities we had already done in June. We went back to the zoo two more times this month and played some more games with water balloons.

So that is how July played out for me. It's not quite what I had hoped to be able to accomplish and as I end the month I am still feeling quite sad and struggling to be motivated. However, I am pressing forward and finding that doing some of these things even when I don't feel like it at least helps life move a bit more smoothly and they can help me feel a bit better. How did your month go? What are some goals you have for August? Stay tuned for my August goals soon!