August Happiness Challenge – Day 9

My 2026 Happiness Icon

Today's Happiness: Bregmania. Lots of fans – my nephew included – are hard on Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman. Yes, he signed in January for a monstrously large sum of money and yes, his season got off to a slow start. Obviously he wants to do better and earn his keep! I'm very simple that way: If you're wearing Cubbie blue, I love you.

 

Well my good vibes and full-throated defense have paid off. Since the All Star Break, he has had 3 HRs and 12 RBIs. Just today he was 3 for 6!

 

You're welcome, Alex. 😉 

 

  

Happy August Happiness Challenge!

 

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.

 

 

A-HA!

The lightbulb went off first thing. This morning at church, our service opened with a prayer that advised us: "Choosing joy is a holy act of defiance." 

 

It's hard in the Age of Trump. MAGA has co-opted my Christian faith and pretends it is about xenophobia, homo/transphobia, and casual cruelty. That does not remotely represent the Jesus of my heart, and this makes me want to shake my fist at the clouds. It leaves me rebellious.

 

Then I heard the prayer. A-ha! I get it now. I'm not going to deny the ugliness of our times. That would be delusional. But I'm going to rebel, to defy MAGA by being a happy warrior. By choosing to face forward and joyfully work on change with love. Yesterday I posted about how my favorite most Cub always seems so passionate and happy in his mission to help pediatric cancer patients. He's like a golden retriever puppy in human form. Maybe he already knows what I'm trying to learn: that choosing joy in the face of sorrow and fear is "a holy act of defiance."

 

Then there's our prayer at the offertory: "May we be transformed by our giving, and may the world be transformed by our gifts." My giving is not limited to money (though money is important). It's my time and my gifts and my spirit, too. So this week, as I write my Letters Against Isolation and my Postcards to Swing States, I want to be more intentional. That way my acts can bring me joy and solace as I change my country around me. 

 

Sunday Stealing

Answers these questions when you don't have anything to blog about ... 

1) Describe your typical weekend, and tell us how this weekend has been different. I eat out a lot on weekends. This one has been no different. The highlight of Saturday was ribs, so I'll try to grab something healthier today.

2) What food hits your bliss spot? Prime rib. I haven't had it in more than a year, but I practically dream about it.

 

3) Where did you stay on your last vacation (hotel, Airbnb/Vrbo, friends/family)? The Loews in Hollywood. It's a very nice hotel, but that's not why it's my home-away-from-home in LA. It's literally attached to four of the theaters that participate in the TCM Classic Film Festival, which makes it hard (but not impossible) for me to get lost. Really, I have no sense of direction in the best of times and when I'm in my classic film haze, blabbing with my tribe, I am positively ditzy.

4) If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours would you erase? After reading #3, you might think I'd try to erase the part of me that's so easily distracted. But no! I'd like to erase my lazy streak, which is as wide as it is long.

 

5) Think of your friends. Tell us about the first one who popped into your head. Nancy. Maybe I thought of her first because I owe her an email. Anyway, we were coworkers long ago and I happened to run into her (almost literally) on an escalator more than a decade later. I consider that a lucky accident. Nancy is smart and interesting and now married to Paul, who is sweet and funny. They are a nice package deal.