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Thursday, November 12, 2020

Three Reasons to Smile

After the joy of the weekend, this week has taken a grim turn with the rising coronavirus numbers, so I have been searching out and paying attention to reasons to be happy, party as a coping mechanism and partly to combat my natural tendency toward pessimism. So today I'm linking up with Carole with three things that have made me smile in the past couple of days.

1. The sun is out again.
After that stretch of unusually warm weather, yesterday started with rain -- including a thunderstorm that woke us all up at 5 a.m. The rain did let up later in the day, but it was still quite gloomy. So it's lifting my mood quite a bit today that the sun is out again. As the hours of daylight we get each day start to diminish, I'm always thankful for any time I can see the sun.

2. Beauty in unexpected places
I'd spotted this on a run earlier in the week but obviously couldn't snap a photo at the time, so as yesterday was a walking day, I made sure to pause to capture this petunia that has chosen an unlikely place to thrive:


This is the base of a streetlight, right near a curb at an intersections. I can't imagine someone purposefully planting flowers here (mostly because it seems like a physical impossibility), so I assume they're growing wild -- and they seem to be thriving despite the inhospitable environment. I love when that happens.

3. The generosity of others
I know I have mentioned before that I serve on the board of our synagogue, but I can't remember if I've mentioned that I'm also cochair of the Community Outreach and Social Action Committee. We have recently revamped the committee, largely through the involvement of my new cochair (a retired man who has time to do more than I can and is a real go-getter), and our first event was a winter clothing drive to benefit the Braddock Free Store, which was founded by our state's second lady. We had a committee meeting last night, and my cochair reported that the effort garnered 160+ coats and more than 130 boxes of other warm clothing. We didn't have any real expectations for how it would go, but we were all blown away by how generous our congregants were!

I hope that no matter how depressing the news might be right now, you're finding some things that will still make you smile. Be safe out there!

7 comments:

  1. I am also gladdened by the great response to your winter clothing drive and that persistent petunia! To grow in a concrete crack seems unlikely, but blooming is almost miraculous. Thanks for sharing the good stuff!

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  2. That is uplifting, indeed. 130 BOXES?! Plus all those coats? That must have filled you to the brim inside. I love the concept of the Braddock Free Store. (And it sure piques my curiosity about your Second Lady...)

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    1. Our second lady is incredible! She's an immigrant (now an American citizen), and she's done an amazing amount of good in the local community. I'd encourage you to Google her (her name is Giselle Fetterman) and be prepared to be blown away!

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  3. I love finding "sturdy volunteers" growing and blooming out there in the wild! They are such a wonderful reminder of resilence . . . even when rooted in cement and metal! (And what great news about your coat drive!)

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  4. That petunia shows a lot of strength in that spot in this month. Congratulations on a successful warm clothing drive.

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  5. I love it when things grow up through the cracks.

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  6. These are all such good things! Things to lift one's spirits and carry you on. Things that are much needed these days! Thank you for sharing!

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