Month-in-Review Highlights: April 2023

Why yes, that’s me just casually standing there before the immense and ancient Colossi of Memnon, two massive seated statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, in Egypt. Near Luxor, Egypt. April 19, 2023.

I postmortem each month shortly after it ends. Previously, I used these posts to hold myself accountable on progress toward my annual goals. Starting in January 2023, I broadened these posts to address more generally my observations and experiences for the month. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)

April didn’t go as planned, but in entirely different ways than March’s derailment.

At least when it came to my goals for the year, by and large, I maintained progress. I didn’t check off any big ones as “accomplished,” but I kept everything on track, including the following:

• I’ve continued to trudge forward painfully slowly—but on schedule, as at least I know how painstakingly I draft and had planned accordingly—on my current novel manuscript.

• I met all professional plans and obligations.

• I organized a first gathering—simple, just for coffee—of a few other writers I’ve encountered in the Lausanne area, in hopes of building an informal community.

• I even kept up the French language perfecting (which, I’ve now realized, will take more than a lifetime).

This despite a trip to Egypt with family at midmonth.

And this despite unexpected turbulence during said trip to Egypt, which involved one major health crisis (not me, but when you travel with other people and one becomes gravely ill, it concerns everyone) and someone else catching COVID-19 late in the trip that manifested shortly after the return home (also not me, given that I had it throughout mid-March and therefore had raging antibodies to cover my trip).

Fun times. Everyday a new adventure—a longstanding motto of mine.

How was your April?