Month-in-Review Highlights: May 2022

A view over Rome and the Vatican City from the top of Castel Sant’Angelo. Not a bad way to start off the month! Rome, Italy, May 1, 2022.

I postmortem each month shortly after it ends, reflecting on what happened in general and, more specifically, in the context of my goals. Though I don’t share all my insights here, I have made it a practice to share at least one key highlight or insight. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)

This month, I’ll toss in a few random highlights from my review of progress against goals through May 2022, rather than picking one main one and making it the focal point. (Somehow, it’s summer and my mind has started to scatter. That, or I’ve put all the concentration into my current projects and can’t spare it for the monthly recap.)

I have some big goals around a couple of writing projects for the year and May kicked off phase two for one of them. Alas, I had a mismatch between expectations for this phase of the project and the discovered reality of it, which threw me into a loop of circling between frustration and depression. I’ll feel forever grateful for a fellow friend in creativity, who talked my head back on straight. I returned to the project shortly thereafter with a new attitude—and the resignation that phase two will take a lot longer than expected.

Although my first all-in-French volunteering assignment with the Croix-Rouge Vaudoise didn’t work out due to scheduling and I still haven’t heard back on launching the second assignment, I did manage to participate in a few social events entirely in French. As socializing in the language and making French-speaking friends is a priority for the year, a simple foray into a few activities felt like success. I’ve started later in the year than I’d hoped, but at least I’ve started.

Another goal for the year that hasn’t made much progress—including in May—centered on finding a tactile hobby. I spend so much of my time—work and play—in front of the computer that I wondered if creating something three dimensional our of three-dimensional materials wouldn’t be a good idea. However, I haven’t hit on anything that particularly captivates me. I love baking, but… I don’t need to eat a bunch of baked goods (as much as I’d like to eat a bunch of baked goods—which is the actual problem). I may return to quilting as I continue to explore, as I have a quilting project still to finish that will take several months more at the very least.

How are you tracking with your goals so far this year?