Before I get into my May project, I need to confess that I didn’t do a great job in April.  I did try to pray every day, but didn’t always take the time to actually do it.  I also found it was a lot more difficult to pray for someone I didn’t like than I had initially anticipated.  I actually thought the silence part of the prayer practice would be harder, but it was pretty good.

All in all, I’ve deepened my prayer practice, but I don’t think it has changed my daily routine all that much, so that’s kind of disappointing.

But, it’s on to May.  Gratitude month.
My goal this month isn’t to be grateful for the obvious things, like my husband or kid, who are both awesome, or even my friends or family, or great job, etc…
But instead, my practice this month is going to be about the little things.
In my research for this gratitude month, I’ve learned that people who have a daily gratitude practice on the little things report being happier, more joyful, and less stressed.  I think I would be fine with all of those things.

So, to start my little things for the first few days of May:
1st: kid-free weekends.
2nd: outdoor couches. seriously.
3rd: 5 neighborhood kids running in the sprinkler in our yard, giggles and joy
4th: the smell of our backyard today. lilacs + flowering trees = amazingness
5th: mama duck and 15 ducklings joining me and my reading buddy for lunch. SO CUTE.

I’ll continue to post these every couple of days, but if you’re a blog follower, I encourage you to join me in this small things gratitude practice for May.