Apple pancakes

29 September 2016: Dinner at IHOP with two good friends at the end of a chilly and rainy day? Not bad at all. And these yummy apple pancakes? Yup, they can be today's good thing.

Rosie the Riveter at 95

28 September 2016: Here's a nice story that I stumbled upon, about the "real" Rosie the Riveter getting recognized--at the age of 95. We'll call that today's good thing.

Tag!

27 September 2016: Wish I had video of it, but you'll just have to trust me: today's good thing is Bing, Wes, and Veronica chasing each other all around the house, something I found them doing when I got home from trivia. I still wish the boys were more interested in cuddling with Veronica, who is dying for them to let her do so, but it sure is fun to see them all playing.

"Not good enough Cs"

26 September 2016: It's early in the day, but it is also promising to be a very busy day, so I am going to post this very good column now and call it today's good thing. It picks up on something that always bugs me when people discuss higher education problems in big generalities or dismiss entire generations with labels like "millennials." Students and their lives are complicated and one-size-fits-all answers and explanations rarely work. This isn't to say it's not worthy trying--of course it is. But we need to think more carefully and beware pat solutions.

Baby smiles...

25 September 2016: This little smile=today's good thing.

Going-away party...

24 September 2016: Today's good thing is the lovely going-away party I attended for a recent graduate who is joining AmeriCorps soon. I am so thrilled for her and know she'll do great things. And, as an added bonus, two more of our recent graduates were there: three great students from our program, all employed and already making a difference in the world. Just wonderful.

5:45 on Friday...

23 September 2016: My office hours go until 6:00 on Friday. Usually, no one comes after 5:00 unless big project deadlines are looming, so imagine my surprise when one of my students (one of my sweetest, best students) showed up. And because she is one of my best students, she wanted to talk about work that isn't due for a while and work she has already gotten back and has months to revise (but she wants to start revising now). She kept apologizing for asking questions and coming late in the day (which is ridiculous and a habit she needs to break!), but really and truly: it was a delightful conversation--fun and interesting. Can't think of a better way to end the week.

Friendly Bing

22 September 2016: The cable guy got here early today to fix a problem that should have been fixed a week ago when another cable guy was here (but that's another story). Anyway, this guy was great: friendly and helpful and fixed the darn thing. So yeah, I am thrilled to have my television delivery system back at full strength, but I am going to focus on something else for today's good thing.

The cable guy (I think his name is Oliver?) was soft-spoken and didn't make a lot of noise coming in. If he had, there's a good chance Bing would have run upstairs. But he didn't, so Bing hung around and then sauntered right up to the guy, smelling his bag, trying to play with a loose zip tie, and just purring up a storm. He let him pet him for a while, too. The guy had mentioned earlier that his wife gets mad because her cat prefers him to her, so I guess he has a way. But it was really sweet to see old Bing (he's 14 now!) playful and sweet and happy with some attention from a friendly stranger.

Save the Day

21 September 2016: Another no-brainer good thing. Joss Whedon? Mark Ruffalo? Neil Patrick Harris? Tom Lenk? Julianne Moore? Daveed Diggs? And stopping the super villain who is running for president? I am all about that.

Self-correction

20 September 2016: I am going to stay vague on this, just because, well...you never know. But I think Tuesday's good thing might just be a realization I had when talking with a student. This was someone I had been baffled by earlier in the semester. I wondered if this person should even be in college--his/her work was so off, his/her confusion at even the simplest instruction downright astounding. But we met yesterday to talk about an assignment and I realized that there was some real turmoil going on at home. And I recognized just a glimpse of the person I was back in 1995 during my freshman year.

Really, that's the only connection: two people who struggled to make that transition, but struggled in entirely different ways. But it was enough for me to get started being a more decent person. And I saw that this student was trying...trying really hard. And was improving. But I think that even if he/she weren't improving in terms of course work, I still might have had this bit of self-correction, reminding myself not to judge so quickly, to always remember that people are complicated, and that I need to be more patient. Lord...patience is so hard for me sometimes. I need to keep working on it.

Walking, walking, walking...

19 September 2016: Ugh. A stressful day today. But the saving grace(s) were the walks I made myself take at various points in the day: a walk to the post office at lunch, a walk this evening after I got home. They--along with my trusty podcasts--clear my head, distract me, make me laugh, make me smile, keep me sane... So those walks are today's good thing.

Tatiana Maslany!!!

18 September 2016: The Emmys were a lot of fun last night. But boy, I was really thrilled with Tatiana Maslany's win for her work on Orphan Black. Definitely that day's good thing.

Mount Vernon with Jane

17 September 2016: Visited Mount Vernon with Jane today. As with any event involving spending time with Jane, it rocked.

Collecting the world

16 September 2016: Check out this delightful short video about the Smithsonian's Natural History collections. So fun and interesting!

Sites of Conscience

15 September 2016: Continuing to push through this stupid sickness, I attended a wonderful training session led by someone from Sites of Conscience. It was moving, challenging, and inspiring. If you haven't heard of this group, check them out!