What follows will hopefully be a weekly thing for me from now on. You could look at this as a diary, but with a focus on happy stuff. I think we all need to remind ourselves to smile as often as we can. While not a Panacea in itself, positivity leads to new ways of looking at hard problems. But positivity is something you practice, not something you just decide. These weekly posts will be my practice. There are certain things that lead me to this revelation that I hope to write about eventually, but that is a story for another day.
I wish I could say I came up with the idea for this post format myself, but alas, I did not. Credit should go where it is due. I shamelessly stole it from writer and blogger extraordinaire, Shane Burcaw. So without further ado, here is the very first week of things that made me smile.
Monday, February 18, 2019
- Holiday today, which means I didn’t have to get up for work. Normally, I try to get up anyway, but I needed the rest. I felt guilty about it afterwards, but sleeping in still made me smile.
- Mom and I watched two episodes of ABC’s “Speechless” today. I love Micah Fowler (as an artist of course!). That show can pretty reliably make me smile.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
- I got some much-needed input on my upcoming blog post today. I am exceedingly grateful that people are willing to put in the time to give me edits.
- My family treated me to our local discount movie day today! We saw “Alita: Battle Angel” this time around. The plot was pretty straightforward, but watching the main character kick butt throughout most of the movie made me smile.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
- There was a board meeting at work today. The after-meeting refreshments were laid out all over my desk, but I was basically told I could have a free lunch after the exiting board members had had their fill. Free lunches are awesome!
- I finished my first real blog post today! By the time this is out, it will already be up. You can read it here. I am all smiles right now!
Thursday, February 21, 2019
- I visited Loyola Marymount University today for a lecture about public Service and the Law. Being back at my old Alma Mater and listening to an intellectually stimulating lecture made me smile.
- On the way home from Loyola, a stranger helped me cross the street safely. This is one of those totally unexpected moments in life that warms my heart.
Friday, February 22, 2019
- I slept in again. I always guilt myself over it, but being well rested makes me smile.
- “The Blacklist” was awesome tonight.
- My Grandmother shared a stash of previously unknown Sees candy with me tonight for dessert. I love chocolate!
Saturday, February 23, 2019
- My Mom and I went to the Los Angeles Abilities Expo today! We got the ball rolling to get me a new wheelchair (my current one is 9 years old)! Getting the much-needed needed help made me smile!
- Holy Moley! I met Micah Fowler in person today!!!!!!! The fact that I was smiling should be obvious.
- Toward the end of the day, I got to try out the Ogo power chair! The handling was unorthodox, but totally cool. I got to speak to the company founder too. Great guy.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
- Somebody I met at the expo got in touch with me! I hope we stay in contact! The possibility is thrilling!
- I’m closing out the day (and the week) by going out for dessert with an old friend. We’ve kept in touch consistently ever since graduating LMU, and catching up with him is always wonderful. Addendum: The waffle ice cream sandwich was pretty good too!
Shawn,
You are an amazing writer! I hope someday we get to have the pleasure of reading a novel written by you.
Your friend,
Myle
Love the idea of weekly smiles! As a teacher, we often recommend it to our children and their parents!
Your sentence “I love chocolate” made me smile 😃
If you ever just want me to send some From Belgium… 😉
Hugs for all of you!