Happy April, friends! And happy spring! I hope that spring is finding you in your corner of the world (or fall if you are south of the equator). It's also our 14th wedding anniversary today, no foolin' (as our wedding invitations said).

Although our spring is perhaps not as dramatic as areas that emerge from snow and ice to find blooming flowers, the desert does have its own spectacular spring if you look for it. In our own little desert yard we eagerly await the first yellow blooms of our palo verde tree to pop, usually in time for our two April birthdays. We're still waiting for the first signs of those...

This year we've been treated to the surprise of two towering bloom stalks from our octopus agaves. The bloom stalks first emerged in January and climbed into the sky, sometimes it seemed by inches a day, until they towered over us. Just this week their yellow blooms started popping open, in clusters and from the bottom up, and the bees are buzzing around. It makes me so happy! This is exactly the kind of thing that a trained ecologist and plant nerd like me gets jazzed about. Happy spring to me indeed!

As we headed into spring break in early March I noticed a shift in my mood and energy. Life felt...easier. I couldn't quite put my finger on why but I welcomed the feeling. After having a rough entry into the new year, lately the waters have felt calmer. Screen time, chores, and behavior have all felt in pretty good places, with allowances for the very big emotions of our almost four year old. As we readied for our spring break trip I didn't feel overwhelmed at the task list and didn't feel daunted at driving to California with the three kids.

Are we arriving at the era of golden ages for the kids? I won't go that far, or tempt fate, but I'm welcoming this change. Whatever it is, and even if it's temporary.

But really there’s no time to dwell because the spring crunch is here. What I keep telling myself lately is “keep pushing forward.” The spring is always busy, this one especially so, but good things are in motion.  Gotta keep moving…

First, let's revisit my March goals:

+ Have a summer planning meeting with Chris. Yes! We have started conversations about the summer. Conclusion: summer is expensive! We talked a bit about our summer rhythm and registered the kids for some part-time summer camp as well. I get some mild anxiety heading into the summer. But hopefully every year, as the kids get older, summer becomes less of a slog and we find more fun!

+ Finish planning and host Maeve’s birthday party. I'm writing this the day before her party but let's assume that all went went and we had a very fun unicorn park party. I actually had a bad dream the other night that we were completely unprepared for her park party: no food, no cake, no favors. So Chris made a quick dash to the store for a cake and favors, which turned out to be ill-fitting pajamas. LOL.

+ Take the next steps for Your Year to Shine 2025. No time but it’s still top of mind.

+ Start outlining a new workshop. No progress on this, but still percolating.

+ Get organized for an overhaul of my blog. Started organizing my thoughts.

+ Take care of tasks for local political campaigns. I'm bummed that one candidate I was volunteering for has dropped out because of local political dynamics (it's nearly impossible for a non-Republican to win in our area). But I am feeling energized about being involved in the local campaign for public school funding, which failed last year (don't get me started!) and is critical for our school district.

Next, big things happening in April:

+ Our 14 year wedding anniversary. This is such a busy time but we do have a mini day date planned for today and an upcoming lunch date at a favorite spot.

+ Maeve turns 4. How? Sob! And also, hooray! There were some hard days this past year. My mom kept a journal when I was young and among her brief entries was the note that "Kelsey had a stormy third year." I could say the same about Maeve so perhaps like mother like daughter. (And also, sorry mom!) I'm hopeful for calmer seas as we set sail into four.

+ Dash turns 11! Also how? I am loving this age for Dash and for me as a mother. It's an incredible experience to see your child grow into their own person, and turn out to be someone who makes you laugh, comforts you, and continues to amaze you. Thanks for making me a mom, Dash, my radiant boy.

+ Road trip to see the solar eclipse! Two and a half weeks after returning from our California road trip we'll hit the road again to drive to Austin to experience the solar eclipse on April 8. This is a bucket-list experience for me and I'm excited to see it with my little family among my Austin family in my parent's beautiful backyard.

+ Solo parent weekends. Chris is taking two back-to-back weekend trips this month trip so I'll be on solo parent duty. I'm so thankful that solo parenting no longer feels (too) daunting, and even feels fun in a way. I love doing a few special things with the kids and enjoy the post-bedtime solo time to myself as well. I vividly remember that I did NOT feel this way when Chris would travel when the boys were two squirrelly toddlers.

April goals:

+ Enjoy my family, our road trip, and our eclipse experience. I'll channel my go-with-the-flow and low expectations mindset from our spring break trip.

+ Work on our 2024 family photo book. I want to do this quarterly, like last year, so that it doesn’t feel too daunting.

+ Focused work session for a new workshop. It’s amazing what you can get done in a few hours of deep work. I need to block out time and follow through.

I’m going to leave it there for this busy month. What are you up to in April, friends?

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