Oh April, I miss you already

With your cooler temps, your beautiful weather, your blooming flowers… and now you’ve shriveled up and turned into a brutally hot May. I’m glad I enjoyed you while you were here.

I had real plans to finish a ton of things in April, and while those didn’t pan out I still had a great month (in spite of Buddha’s health scare and subsequent death). I think I had such a great month because we closed the shop for Easter – bonus day off FOR THE WIN! – and I took some mental health days off – FIVE DAY WEEKEND FOR THE TRIPLE FUCKING AWESOME WIN – and I felt like that really gave me some time to step back and get my head together. I spent a lot of time being social, too; more than in a “normal” month. I met friends for ice cream. I had family and friends over, twice in the same week. I went out and did things. I need to remember to do things like that more often; I know I complain about being tired all the time, but being social and doing things is really very good for me. There’s a balance in there between “me time” and “fun times” and I really hit it in April.

One of the things I thought a lot about this month was Buddha’s death; while I worried about her (worried that she was uncomfortable, worried that she was in pain) I never really flipped out about her death. I asked my friend Jenn (always honest, luvyew cuteshews!) if because I didn’t feel that broken up about it, was I in denial since we’d lost three cats in the last year? Was I just not letting myself feel the grief because my lawd, isn’t three in one year enough? Was I sublimating? … and Jenn kind of half-smiled and allowed as how if there’s one thing I am not good at, it’s sublimating. Har! So I think it comes down to this: I’ve had Buddha her whole life. She was born behind the couch in my living room when I lived out at the farm the last time – she had a good early life as a farm cat, spent her teen years learning how to be cool and relaxed from my then-oldest-cat Selkie, spent her whole adult life here in this house as an indoor/outdoor cat chasing lizards, sleeping in the sun, watching birds, making friends in the house and in the neighborhood. She had a most excellent kitty life. And in the end, it wasn’t a quick tragic death and it wasn’t a slow painful death. She just sort of… wound down. She was even purring a little that morning, and never seemed to be hurting. We can all only hope for a life like that. I don’t feel that there was anything I failed to give her, any way that she was lacking. I feel like celebrating her life rather than mourning her passing. And obviously I feel like going through the whole thing again, because in about four or five more weeks we will be bringing these little bundles of joy into our home. Yay, kittens!

Most of my photos of the day were either of beautiful blooming flowers or shots while dogwalking. April is one of my favorite months in Gainesville. The temperature isn’t cold, isn’t hot; the flowers are blooming everywhere; mornings are just cool enough to make you believe summer won’t be so excruciating (HAHAHAHA) and even though pollen is killing all of us, I love being outdoors in April.

Oh! I did take a bonus photo to finish off March – Tim had finished wrangling the yarn last month and I finally got it out of my car and back into the shop where it could be donated (it was, and it was very appreciated – thanks, mom!).

The big news in Gainesville – besides the never-ending fuckery of the Publix construction in our parking lot (whoa, how did I not take a photo of that this month?) and the 16th Ave confunction, is that an awesome cupcake shop opened. We feel like a big city now – we have a cupcake store! Or maybe it’s just that our THIGHS feel bigger… because we have easier access to cupcakes. Either way, who cares?! CUPCAKES!

While just about a week ago I feel like I wrangled my shop knitting under control, overall I didn’t finish nearly as much as I thought I would this month (one, two, three, four things) (it would have been five but I still have yet to cut out and glue on the mouth). But my shop knitting is a little more manageable now than it was even ten days ago, and I’m feeling less panicked about deadlines and more able to take a day or two and work on non-deadline fun things for me.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand… that’s about it! How was your April? What are your plans for May?