Adulting 101 by @MSU.edu/4-H

• 1/17/2024 The Psychology of Spending & Saving by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 2/12/2024 Fostering Healthy Relationships by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 3/19/2024 Keeping Your Money Safe by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 4/10/2024 Cover Letter & Resume Writing by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 5/15/2024 Build & Protect Your Credit by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 6/06/2024 Traveling on a Budget by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 7/16/2024 Cooking Basics by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 8/12/2024 Summer Berries: Jam & Jelly by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 9/16/2024 Changing the World with Your Vote by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 5pm Wed 10/16/2024 Paying for Post-Secondary Education by @MSU.edu/4-H
• 5pm Tue 11/19/2024 Cracking the Code to College by @MSU.edu/4-H

What a great free program!

Accotink Unitarian Universalist 10:00 Sundays

Parkwood Baptist 09:30 Sundays

I am firmly agnostic. I also fully support the exploration that should occur before one settles into a spiritual life, or lack thereof. My 16yo son wants to explore churches, so explore churches we will! Up first, at the invite of a school friend, Baptist. 🫤 I’ll pick the next one.

Pesach Seder at Chabad Tysons Jewish Center

It was my distinct honor and pleasure to attend the Pesach Seder with Carol, prepared and led by Rabbi Deitsch and his lovely family.

What a vibe! The D Soraki - "I'm Coming Out!"

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries

WFCM serves qualified individuals and families of all races, colors, national origins, ages, genders, disabilities/differing abilities, and religious beliefs, from the communities of Chantilly, Centreville, Clifton, Oak Hill, Herndon, Fairfax, and Fairfax Station.

Alexei Navalny "It Means We Are Incredibly Strong!"

Relatable

Are You Okay? by @InfiniteCore

Christ Climbed Down from His Bare Tree

Christ Climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where there were no rootless Christmas trees hung with candycanes and breakable stars 

Christ Climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where there were no gilded Christmas trees and no tinsel Christmas trees and no tinfoil Christmas trees and no pink plastic Christmas trees and no black Christmas trees and no powderblue Christmas trees hung with electric candles and encircled by tin electric trains and clever cornball relatives 

Christ Climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where no intrepid Bible salesman covered the territory in two-tone cadillacs and where no Sears Roebuck creches complete with plastic babe in manger arrived by parcel post the babe by special delivery and where no televisied Wise Men praised the Lord Calvert Whiskey 

Christ climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where no fat handshaking stranger in a red flannel suit and a fake white beard went around passing himself off as some sort of North Pole saint crossing the desert to Bethlehem Pennsylvania in a Volkswagon sled drawn by rollicking Adirondack reindeer with German names and bearing sacks of Humble Gifts from Saks Fifth Avenue for everybody’s imagined Christ child 

Christ Climbed down from His bare Tree this year and ran away to where no Bing Crosby Carollers groaned of a tight Christmas and where no Radio City angels iceskated wingless thru a winter wonderland into a jinglebell heaven daily at 8:30 with Midnight Mass matinees 

Christ Climbed Down from His bare Tree this year and softly stole away into some anonymous Mary’s womb again where in the darkest night of everybody’s anonymous soul He awaits again an unimaginable and impossibly Immaculate Reconception the very craziest of Second Comings.

The White Wolf by @ChiaraMoreni

Happy Wife Happy Life Trackhawk Edition

NPRC Digital Delivery Notification

On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 2:19 PM <nprc.digitaldelivery@nara.gov> wrote:

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87yo Georgia Tann Victim Meets 84yo Biological Sister

Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound

• 6/22/2023 - Lobsters likely feel pain. Should we get them high before eating them? @NationalGeographic
• 7/2019 - Every Lobster Must Get Stoned @DownEast.com
• 9/25/2018 - Maine Asks Restaurant To Stop Giving Lobsters Cannabis Before Boiling Them @NPR

Gratitude for April

1st - I’m grateful that people in my life don’t play pranks and pull tricks for April Fool’s Day.

2nd - I’m grateful for my husband who embraces domestic responsibility, he let me sleep in while tending the worst kind of cat mess. I'm grateful for the inclusive activities and meals my sister always plans and hosts that really keep our two families bonded, and for today's yummy cook-out/eat-in dinner.

3rd - I'm grateful that my daughter is interested in, capable of, and motivated to work, she starts as a barista today, her third stint at p/t employment. I'm grateful for Spring Break, which also starts today, I love my school mornings w/just my son, but I shall certainly enjoy the brief reprieve from the alarm clock! And I am particularly grateful today that life keeps proving to me that when doors close, not only do other doors open, but other new doors appear too! I'm embarking on a journey I didn't even know was a possibility!

4th - Again w/the embracing of domestic responsibility, his Jeep's well again finally(!), and instead he's out there mowing to keep our place in good shape, even as our lease was not extended and we are suddenly house-hunting again, he never slacks (he either just doesn't ever, or can't relax, I'm still not sure). And I'm super glad my company has a paid bench.

14th - Today I'm grateful that my daughter and I both have good listening and conflict resolution skills, and also grateful to have several positive outlets for my distractedness (TeamSubAlumni.org).

24th - This is hard to keep up with, even w/this flexible monthly format I've allowed. Today I'm grateful that I finally had a meds mgmt appt - finally! And for an atypical Rx, Remeron. And for new beginnings! Today's my first day w/Pantheon Solutions.

25th - 

Starbucks Barista Extraordinaire!

It's her first day. 💕

She was excited about being a pro-union liberal in a non-union store, but already she's more concerned with how the transition to union work is impacting smaller stores, low-level managers, and partner-manager relations, already she knows that her new manager's feelings would actually be hurt if the team unionized "against" the manager. I'm glad she gets to learn these complexities and this nuance in an environment in which her adult livelihood is not on the line.

I don't know enough about unions to advise her, but I suggested an approach might be to ask her manager to support their union efforts, so they can ensure they get as good a manager as she is if/when she ever leaves or gets promoted. They could organize under a current manager, agreeing to shift to union at next manager turnover, could they not?

Gratitude Quiz Results

Greater Good Gratitude Quiz Results: Your gratitude score is 72 out of 105.

Your responses suggest you are a grateful person. You sometimes foster gratitude by comparing your situation in life to that of people who have less than you and by remaining mindful of how much harder your life could be. It helps that you also make an effort to focus on what you have rather than what you don’t. Still, it seems that you could benefit from trying to do all of this more often. Studies suggest that nurturing your tendency to practice gratitude could bring you more positive emotions, better health, stronger relationships, and greater life satisfaction.

If you want to develop your gratitude practice, try these exercises:

• Reflect on the positive. Keeping a Gratitude Journal or journaling about Three Good Things that happen every day can highlight the positives in your life and help you stop taking things for granted.
• Write a Gratitude Letter. Writing—and then delivering—a heartfelt letter of gratitude to someone you’ve never properly thanked can not only boost your sense of gratefulness but also strengthen your bond with them.
• Imagine a different life. It’s easy to grow accustomed to the good things in life, but imagining their absence can shake you out of this habit. In Mental Subtraction of Positive Events or Mental Subtraction of Relationships, you call to mind a certain positive experience—the birth of a child, a career achievement, meeting your future spouse—and imagine how things might have turned out differently.
• Deprive yourself. In a similar vein, abstaining from a pleasure for some time can make it all the much sweeter later. To take advantage of this effect, try the Give It Up practice.
• Take a Savoring Walk. On a 20-minute walk, observe the sights, sounds, and smells you encounter—freshly cut grass, an epic skyscraper, a stranger’s smile. Each time you notice something positive, take the time to absorb it and think about why you enjoy it. On your subsequent Savoring Walks, strike out in different directions to seek new things to admire.

You can also read our article analyzing the results from the rest of the Greater Good community. And check out our new book, The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good, to discover how gratitude can lead to a better life and a better world.

ACT Mindfully Free Resources