Simple Joys of the Month: April, 2025
Switching things up a bit.
I’ve been sharing my favorite “simple joys” (one for every sense—hear, see, taste, smell, and touch) ever since I started my blog WAYYYY back in 2009.
But this month, as I went to categorize my simple joys by sensory experience as I’ve always done, I felt constrained. And instead of fighting against MY OWN constraints I thought, why not just change the way I do this?
So, that’s what I’m doing: I’m changing up the format of SJOTM and no one but me cares or will even notice but in the spirit of old school bloggers and new school influencers, I’m telling you that I’m making this formatting change because that’s what we do (ha!).
THUS…here are some of my favorite simple, sensory joys from this past month, organized in a new way that felt right to me today (because I make the rules, dammit!)…
Book: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I listened to the audio version of this thriller and COULD NOT stop listening. Highly recommend!
Movie: Sing (yes, the kids movie from 2016). I’ve been wanting to watch Sing forever, but the kids always poo-pooed it when I brought it up. However, this past weekend when we were all exhausted and it was raining outside, I forced them to watch it with me and guess what? We loved it. Up next: Sing 2!
Podcast: Good Hang with Amy Poehler. It’s new and it’s everything you love about Amy Poehler—jokes, feminism, laughter, celebrations of friendship, and raw honesty. I love it.
Show: The return of Hacks on Max. I’m thrilled it’s back! It’s so funny and cringeworthy! If you aren’t watching it, you’re missing out.
Book: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Yes, this book came out in 2013 and yes, I just read it (finally! Thanks for gifting me a copy, Megan!). I see why it won so many awards. Wow, what a book.
New therapist: Ben and I started going to a new couples therapist and he is GOOD. Like, so insightful and smart—he identified our issues immediately during the very first session. Also, he keeps saying this, which really cracks me up:
SLEEP! HOLY, HOLY SLEEP! I know this sounds crazy, but because our kids don’t often both sleep through the night, it had been a while since I’d had multiple nights in a row of unbroken sleep. But guess what? They both slept through the night the last 3 nights in a row* and I feel like a million bucks!
*YES, I REALIZE THAT I JUST JINXED MYSELF BY TYPING THAT AND TONIGHT WILL BE HORRIBLE. HELP!Easier mornings: Now that the sun is coming up at like 5:15am here on the Cape, it’s been SO much easier to get up for the early morning fitness classes that I take during the week. Starting my day by popping out of bed and into the sunlight [to the sound of birds chirping] instead of begrudgingly rolling out of bed into the pitch dark is *such* a treat.
-The beach: We had spring break last week and the weather was incredible. The kids and I took multiple trips down to the beach (5 mins from our house!) to “look for treasures” and it was so lovely. There’s nothing like the beach and I will never, EVER get over living by it.
-Sea glass: Speaking of beach treasures, finding beach glass is our [mine + the kids’] new obsession! It’s so exciting! Plus, the search is meditative and relaxing (when you don’t have a frustrated kid following you and whining, “I STILL haven’t found any!” over and over again).
-The return of warmth and sunshine: I already touched on this but the return of the sun and warmth after a long ass winter is miraculous.
-A fox sighting: Last week, while on a mini-trip with friends to a more isolated part of Cape Cod (we stayed 2 nights), Teddy and I went off exploring by a marsh and spotted a fox watching us from a nearby dune. It was wild and beautiful and a little scary but mostly really cool.
-Fresh croissants from PB Boulangerie: There’s a French bakery here that we LOVE but never get to visit because it’s quite a drive from home. But this past weekend, on our way home from our staycation, we stopped by and got some. THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS.
-Book love: Seeing my book in stores never gets old! And neither does continuing to get messages like this:
(Start ‘em young! Teddy’s sign says, “So bad that even the young kids are here!”)
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Motherhood: The Real Story – A Conversation on Joy, Chaos, & Transformation
A Mother’s Day Special moderated by
Date: Thursday, May 8th from 10:30am-12pm
Location: CORE Club, New York
RSVP: SNAG A SPOT HERE (just a few tickets left!)
THIS IS WHERE I ASK YOU [AGAIN] TO ORDER MY BOOK:
Have you ordered my book yet? It’s never too late to treat yourself or buy it for a friend or family member or random stranger! Thank you so much for your support.
MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS IN MY SHOP
My shop has Mother’s Day gifts and cards for everyone! It’s seriously the perfect place to get mom-centric gear (and I’m not just saying that because it’s my shop). Check it out:
That’s it for this month! Thanks SO MUCH for being here.
xoxo,
Mary Catherine
Yup, you make the rules. This was such a fun list to read! I’m waiting for the copy of God of the Woods I put on hold to become available from the library (feels like it’s been months now). Sounds like it’s a page turner and worth the wait.
That is the very reason my wife wanted to make sure the locks always worked on the bathroom door. I knew how to get in if I needed to, but the boys never figured it out and it drove them crazy!