Because heaven knows we all could use one.
America is a mess, the world is a mess, and we are probably all individual messes too.
So, it seems like a very good week to not skip a Good Things post. In the messiness and brokenness, there are good and encouraging things still happening, and there are still things to be grateful for.
I’ll list mine and then you can join me in the comments.
I’ve seen lots of people listening and learning.
There are plenty of dumpster fires in the comment sections of social media, but I do see some people humbly letting their minds be changed instead of digging in.
And I see a lot of people’s eyes being opened to the privileges we didn’t even know we had.
I see a lot of white pastors addressing racism and white privilege.
When I was a kid, this is not a thing that would have happened, and I am really encouraged to see my own pastor and others thinking about and talking about racism.
Pastors are just people, I know, but they are in a position of leadership, and them talking about these issues is going to help normalize it in congregations.
My mastermind group is so encouraging.
At last week’s meeting, we scrapped the agenda and just discussed racism and privilege.
Ken from The Humble Penny and Nicole from Frugal Chic Life are both in our group, and I have just so appreciated hearing from them.
The things they share are really eye-opening for me, and I’m glad to be in a group that wants to share, hear, learn, and grow so that we can do better.
Virus metrics are improving where I live.
It’s been a few weeks since restrictions started lifting, and numbers are still on an encouraging trajectory.
And even NYC is still seeing improvements. I’m really hoping that continues.
Sonia has a learner’s permit test scheduled!
The DMV was closed for a long time, but they are allowing appointments now. I hopped on as soon as the scheduler was opened up and we got an appointment with just a one week wait.
Driving practice is a great thing to do while social distancing! I think Sonia and I can knock out a lot of her required hours this summer.
On a related note…
The driver’s ed. school opened.
Sonia’s classes will be online (sad sigh for my social girl!), but at least she can get the many hours of classroom instruction done during the summer rather than during the school year.
The weather this spring has been so lovely.
At least for someone who doesn’t love hot weather, it’s been lovely. We’ve had a lot of unseasonably cool weeks, and I am here for it.
Jan
Friday 12th of June 2020
For the first time—ever—we have a wren in our birdhouse, finches in a fern, brown thrashers in a petunia, and cardinals in a holly! What a blessing it’s been to me during the quarantine ❤️
Marianne
Thursday 11th of June 2020
I got to see my dad who just turned 98 first time since end of March. We had a very short talk, he is hard of hearing and I talked thru a screened door but I picked him up a burger and made potato salad. My sister is caring for him at home so another thankful for him not having to be in a nursing home. Another silver lining with all the Covid my son and dil delivered 1st grand-baby in Nov so they are both working from home. She is a school teacher so she is off all summer both enjoying all the changes the first year of life offers. The county and world is in such a scary place. I hope we come out of all this in a better place. Glad I have a doctor who takes my RA pain seriously and works with me to try new available options & old ones. Future dil just got called back to work, she had only worked 3 weeks before things were closed down. She is super thankful to be called back. She is such a gem.
Andrea D Wiener
Tuesday 9th of June 2020
continuing on your "good things" - NYC is officially in Phase 1 as of yesterday (YEAH! can you tell I live in NYC? :D ) - and I for one am looking forward to the upcoming weeks!
Kristen
Tuesday 9th of June 2020
Yay!! I hope the numbers continue to improve for you guys.
cheryl
Tuesday 9th of June 2020
Thankful for my health at 65 even through Pandemic. Thankful my job paid me for 9 weeks off while Safe at Home. Thankful for these beautiful days to enjoy my coffee on my balcony before work now that I'm back in the office. (And coffee! :)) Thankful for my family who I see and hear from regularly. Thankful for God's grace and His presence. Actually...thankfulness is an endless list!
EngineerMom
Tuesday 9th of June 2020
1. Protests have been happening in relatively unexpected places - 90% white small towns, including Medina, OH, which has a relatively strong history of white supremacy (someone I know who grew up there said a KKK clan leader lived down the street from him when he was a kid). In our own little town, a group of high school kids organized a march that, despite some fear-mongers online, went off without a hitch.
2. Books about racism (How to be an Antiracist, White Fragility, Born a Crime, etc.) are selling out - people, especially white people, are educating themselves.
3. We've had some amazingly beautiful weather lately (I live in the greater Chicago area).
4. Living in our new house has brought some unexpected bonuses - I'm now across the street from someone who's willing to get up at 6am on a Saturday to do a 3-4 hour bike ride with me, so I've actually gotten out the last two Sundays!
5. Because we now live in a single-family home instead of a townhouse, we have a backyard in which to set up an 8' pool. With our local public pool closed for the summer, this has been HUGE.
Our new house is also now about half a mile from the public beach on our little local lake. While the beach itself is still closed, swimmers are permitted to go out in the open water to swim (it's a non-motorized lake, so you can swim the whole thing, though 90% of the shoreline is private property, so most people stay near the beach). The water has finally warmed up to the point where I can go swimming again - I've been without a pool since everything shut down in March, and I usually swim 1-2 days a week in the winter and 3-4 days a week in the summer, so this is the longest I've gone without swimming in decades. Cant wait to get back in the water!