This is about hope

Posted July 21, 2025

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She and I sat on the sidelines watching all our kids compete for decades, playing Soccer, Baseball, Softball, Basketball and LaCrosse, from T-ball everyone is a winner to high school and college sports to semi-professional serious business. There was even a post-college year where both sons played in a men’s b-ball league. Traveling through blizzards, standing through downpours or blazing sun, we got there to watch the highs and lows sports offers its competitors. And, as luck would have it, we caught most games through the years, but last week we were overjoyed to witness our adult son endure 3 days of tough matches as he made his way to the semi-finals in a sport he recently started playing with a bit more intention, tennis. We witnessed the thrill of the wins to advance, and the last match that ended in a narrow defeat. Admiring athleticism is inspiring, but so is watching the athlete’s internal struggle as their mounting frustration is pushed aside by determination. We yelled all the platitudes, granted all the positive nods, but for the person on the pitch or court or field, it is their mindset that must deliver the motivation to push onward. Exactly like every battle we face off the mat, right? We watched matches over three days, learning what every sports metaphor is aimed at in real life. Ideals like finding hope when its not easy or paying attention to the tiny little joys when those too are rare.

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Tiny Little Joys, Part 2

Posted July 10, 2025

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In my last post I stated July is for juicy joys only because as valuable as joy is, it is often an elusive emotion, and this July proves no different. The Guadalupe River flooding that devastated the communities throughout Kerr County is as horrific a natural disaster as one could ever imagine. Everyone knows someone who knows a lot of someone’s, my Texas cousin told me. Looking for joy at this moment feels far from possible. And yet, little by little, we must crawl through the darkness, live with the sorrow, and eventually, scratch out some hope as the very word implies: “To hold hope in the absence of any justification for hope.” Somehow this is what we do when called upon in the very worst of situations. “To hope is to transcend one’s circumstances–to know that the circumstances are dire and choose to dream anyway” (McDonald). Tiny step by tiny step, we allow for a sliver of light to inform our dusky and deep sadness, and it is through these moments we will discover hope again.

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Tiny Little Joys

Posted July 2, 2025

Filed under Life

Call me trendy, but once the NYTimes let me know about “tiny little joys,” I was hooked. And I’m not talking about “a pastel-colored balloon at a child’s third birthday party” kind of joy but something that you can feel even in the darkness (The Joy Reset). “Joy does not exist only in the moments that are free of pain. That’s a false story. In fact, the brightest, tiniest, most important pieces can be found only in the dark” (McDonald). Yes, darkness.

Surrounded by the latest headlines that trigger, ignite and flame your fear, I am still going to ask you for a favor. Remember way back when social media was where you posted your best summer barbecue photos? Before influencers overtook the platform and peach pie pics were replaced by sly advertisements and political rants? I am making a promise to myself, and to y’all, that for the whole glorious month, all that I’ll post are the juicy joys of July. Care to join me? If you believe in the emerging field of positive psychology, I bet you already are saying YES! But where to start?