August Happiness Challenge -- Day 14

Today's happiness -- Connie. My girlcat is terribly sweet. She likes to cuddle and purr with me, she likes to run and play with her brother cat, Reynaldo.

On a day like today, when I'm tired from work and deflated by the Cubs lopsided loss,  her soft fur, bright eyes and rumbling purr make me happy.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Apparently I'm loud and angry

Remember Hamid, The New Boy? I like him and think he shows tremendous potential. But he's still junior, and he confuses activity with accomplishment. He doesn't give the creative team time to think. He wants answers and solutions and he wants them by end of day.

Tuesday afternoon, he expected too much too fast. He wanted me to decide how to repaginate a six-page brochure about investing in annuities -- a complicated subject -- and he wanted me to do it off the top of my head. I called the art director over and involved her, because I can't/shouldn't do everything. The three of us hammered out a solution, but there was bruising.

Today, Hamid reported with some amusement that one of the work friends asked why I was so "loud and angry." He told the work friend that if I was loud and angry, the friend had best never work in Dubai, where my manner would seem subdued.

I'm glad Hamid wasn't offended by our exchange, but I admit I'm stung by being considered "loud and angry." With open seating there are no offices and I have no privacy, no place to think, and I admit it wears on me. Plus I have to fight for quality and the integrity of our creative product.

Or maybe I'm good with it. Maybe I like being badass. Must keep turning this over in my head before I come to a conclusion.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 13

Today's happiness -- My auntie. Tuesday I got a postcard from York Beach, ME and an email from Virginia Beach, VA. She thought of me because they were having lunch at the Abbey Road Restaurant and, well, me and the Lads.

It makes me happy that she's there. I disagree with her on many, MANY things (Trump, immigration, guns, Trump). But she loves me. I am not taking her love for granted. I'm going to revel in it.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Tuesday's come and gone

I don't know where Henry sleeps tonight. Is he back home in Key West? Is he still in a hospital bed in Miami?  Do we have a diagnosis on the seizures, a prognosis for recovery? I don't know.

His husband Reg posted to social media on Monday: "Here is what I need. I need people to stop calling me. Stop sending text messages. I will let you know what is going on. IN MY OWN TIME." I resent the living shit out of this. Is it really so awful to be loved, Reg? Is it such a burden to have people praying for your husband?

Bitter though I am, I respect his wishes. I reached out to Patrick just before beginning this post, hoping for news, but he hasn't heard anything either. 

So we wait. My instinct tells me that Henry will be OK. I think if the news was bad or dramatic, Reg would have posted that by now. I suspect that the test results may be difficult to articulate. Brain injuries are complicated.

I'm holding Henry in my heart tonight. Remembering how he brought flowers to my mom's hotel room when she traveled to Key West. He is such a good person. Wherever he is tonight, he deserves to sleep the sleep of the righteous.