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10 things that brought a smile to our faces this week

10 things that brought a smile to our faces this week

Time to celebrate as we head into the holiday weekend! To kick things off, here are ten of the best things we found this week. Kick back, relax, and enjoy these hits of happiness.

1. Watch blind paralympic champion runner David Brown tear up the track in the 100m.

Brown sprints tethered to his guide, Jerome Avery. The rubber finger bands allow Avery to run in exact unison with Brown, guided by his movements. As his guide, Avery calls out potential obstacles and keeps Brown informed of how far he has left to go. The goal is to run as one person. Incredible to watch.

2. Soldier Ethan Houston surprising his mom at the grocery store after being deployed in Germany for two years.

The scream says it all. Probably scared some of the customers at first, but we all get it. It's the ongoing sacrifices of military families and the joy of reunion all wrapped up in 30 seconds.

3. This delightful reminder that little kids are hilarious and deep and have a totally different concept of time than adults do.

Teacher George Pointon shares his year one (kindergarten in the U.S.) students' responses to the question, "If you could travel time, where would you go?" Absolutely delightful answers and analyses. Read the story here.

Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash, George Pointon/Twitter


4. 70-year-old becomes Yankees' bat girl 60 years after being rejected for being a girl


Lifelong New York Yankees fan Gwen Goldman wrote to the general manager of the team when she was 10 years old, expressing her dream of being the team's bat girl. The manager told her she would be "out of place in the dugout." But times change, thankfully, and Goldman got to fulfill that dream this week. Read the full story here.

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5. A woman lost her dog two years ago. When she went to a shelter to adopt a new puppy, there he was.

Aisha Nieves's beloved dog Kovu had been missing for two years, and she assumed he was gone forever. But when she went to an animal shelter looking for a new pup to adopt, she noticed a dog that looked like Kovu. Then she saw the scar over his eye and knew it was him. "He was screaming, trying to get away from the guy holding him and run to me," she told The Morning Call. Then, he just jumped on me, and we started kissing and hugging." Gulp.

6. The best beauty hack and most adorable positive affirmation influencer you'll ever see.

"I wook so cute" should be everyone's mantra when they look in the mirror. And look how responsive she is to her mommy's comments. Maybe we should all get ourselves "sticked up," as she seems to be onto something here.

7. Speaking of adorable, this puppy being overtaken by sleep despite trying his best to fight it is just too much.

Are we all feeling this at the end of a long week? Soooo tired, but refuse to sleep because we don't want to miss anything. (Definitely need to have the sound up for this one. We feel you, dawg.)

8. This story of a BLM flag being torn starts on a down note, but ends with a beautifully uplifting message.

The Millers weren't terribly surprised to find their Black Lives Matter flag vandalized, but an anonymous neighbor who bought them two replacement flags left a note that restored their faith. "I saw it as a chance to remind you, remind myself, remind vandals and kind people alike that you can't tear away someone's humanity, you can't tear away their pride, you can't tear up love and compassion and good hearts the way you can tear up the fabric." Read the full story here.

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9. A homeless artist was discovered, and Oprah surprised him by buying one of his paintings for $5000.

Richard Hutchins has a heck of a life story, from having his art studio burn down to spending time in jail (where he made paintings on the backs of envelopes, using Skittles for paint) to living on the streets of Los Angeles. With the help of Charlie Rocket, he's been rocketed into artistic fame and success. This video of Oprah surprising him is just pure delight.

10. This incredible reminder of the power of art to shift our perspectives and help us see the world in a whole new way.

Human beings are simply amazing, and few things make that as apparent as art. The things we can conjure up in our imaginations and share with the world never cease to amaze.

Regardless of what's happening in the world, there are always stories big and small that can bring a smile to our faces and a moment of peace to our hearts. You just have to know where to look for them—and hopefully, we're making that search a little easier.

And just for funsies, here's a bonus boost of adorableness:

Why is that puppy the cutest thing ever? Why?

Enjoy the long weekend if you get one, and keep seeking joy, everyone!

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

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Klein Kwagga understood the assignment at his sister's concert.

Some kids are too shy to ever want to get on a stage, some will spend most of a performance staring awkwardly at their shoes, and some kids love the opportunity to show off what they've practiced in front of an audience.

And then there are the kids were simply born for the spotlight. You know them when you see them.

When Dirkco Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen hopped on stage with all of the other brothers and sisters of the dance students at René’s Art of Dance in South Africa, no one expected a viral sensation. According to Capetown Etc, it was the school's year-end concert, and siblings were invited to come up and dance to Bernice West’s Lyfie—a popular song in Afrikaans. And Dirkco, who goes by Klein Kwagga, took the assignment and ran with it.

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Prepare to get Thatcherized.

It seems that Adele is going viral once again.

Perhaps you’ve seen the image in question previously (it seems to make the rounds every couple of years). But in case you missed it—it’s Adele’s face. Normal, just upside down.

Only it’s not normal. In fact, when you turn Adele’s face right side up, what you notice is that her eyes and mouth were actually right-side up THE ENTIRE TIME, even though the entire head was upside down. So when you turn the head right side up, the eyes and mouth are now UPSIDE-DOWN—and you can’t unsee it. Do you feel like you're Alice in Wonderland yet?

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People share the most practical ways to support new parents

There's a lot of preparation that goes into having a child well before they're even born. First there are the physical changes your body makes to clear up some space for a tiny human roughly the size of a watermelon. Then there's preparing the nursery, buying lots of extremely small clothes, diapers and an expected understanding that while sleep may be your friend, you won't be getting any of it for about a year.

Lots of people give plenty of advice to help you cope in the early days but after the baby arrives, the focus shifts to solely the baby. It's obviously not a deliberate shift. Babies are just more shiny and new that the parents. But not everyone forgets about the parents once baby makes their grand entrance–some go out of their way to make sure the parents feel supported.

Upworthy asked its audience, "what was the best non-baby related gift you received as a new parent," and the answers were a masterclass on how to care for new parents.

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Family

A mom seeks doctor's help for postpartum depression and instead gets a visit from the cops

Too many women lose out on much needed support because of unwarranted stigma.

Canva

Postpartum depression is very common, and treatable.

Jessica Porten recently visited her doctor four months after giving birth to her daughter, Kira. She wasn't feeling quite like herself.

She had been dealing with overwhelming sadness and fits of anger, which she knew was likely stemming from a case of postpartum depression.

In a Facebook post, Porten recounts the story of that appointment.

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Identity

Formerly enslaved man's response to his 'master' wanting him back is a literary masterpiece

"I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters."

A photo of Jordan Anderson.

In 1825, at the approximate age of 8, Jordan Anderson (sometimes spelled "Jordon") was sold into slavery and would live as a servant of the Anderson family for 39 years. In 1864, the Union Army camped out on the Anderson plantation and he and his wife, Amanda, were liberated. The couple eventually made it safely to Dayton, Ohio, where, in July 1865, Jordan received a letter from his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson. The letter kindly asked Jordan to return to work on the plantation because it had fallen into disarray during the war.

On Aug. 7, 1865, Jordan dictated his response through his new boss, Valentine Winters, and it was published in the Cincinnati Commercial. The letter, entitled "Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master," was not only hilarious, but it showed compassion, defiance, and dignity. That year, the letter would be republished in theNew York Daily Tribune and Lydia Marie Child's "The Freedman's Book."

The letter mentions a "Miss Mary" (Col. Anderson's Wife), "Martha" (Col. Anderson's daughter), Henry (most likely Col. Anderson's son), and George Carter (a local carpenter).

Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

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