The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 014

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient:

Barbara, my mother

Mom will talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. 

(If you're taking her anywhere, you need to build in time for this.)

As a kid, when we would volunteer to deliver Christmas (Thanksgiving?) meals from St. Peter's to people who couldn't make it to the church, she would hug every person we met. 

Whether they liked it or not.

Her prayer list is pages and pages long. If you mention someone you know who's going through a rough time, she will add them to the list even though she doesn't know them personally.

She is a big glowing ball of love, and I'm so lucky to have been raised and nurtured by her.

 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 012 & Day 013

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Recipients:

Jana V, course facilitator of Fanning the Flames: Using Writing to Launch Your Dreams

"for being a wonderful guide and a darn good friend! (Great class tonight 😊) 

~and~

Cecilia M, fellow course participant

"for being warm, for being wise, for being a true WOMAN on the RISE!"

Jana is someone I've known since we were a couple of college kids at UMass Amherst, singing disco songs while walking into town from our dorm, and inspiring awe (terror?) in a couple of our guy friends with our capacity to neatly put away a football-sized calzone and a half-pint of ice cream apiece. 

Cecilia -- to whom I will always be grateful for referring to us as "women on the rise" during one of our first classes -- is someone I've only just met.

If it wasn't for them, the BRIGHT SPOT Awards would not exist today.

One of Jana's writing exercises helped me unearth the desire to revive my blog, and one of her posts gave me the idea for the 100-day challenge. Cecilia has reminded me to keep the spirit of the project front and center, and that it's OK to change the rules to maintain said spirit.

Their inspiration and encouragement over the last month have been precious gifts.

Thank you, ladies.

Shameless Plug for a Friend:

Jana is a wonderful writing coach and course facilitator. 

Feel free to check out her website, Set Your Muse On Fire!

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 011

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Recipient:

Darina O'Hagan

"For the text that made me smile, the creativity and spirit that inspires me, and the friendship that continues after meeting one time, 12 years ago."

March, 2009: I was feeling restless and wanted to do something different to celebrate my 40th birthday. That "something" ended up being a week-long solo trip to Austin, staying at a hostel on South Lakeshore Boulevard.

It didn't take long to meet some folks and start spending time as a group, going out to hear live music, wandering around the U of T campus, or hanging out in the common room. Darina was one of those people.

She was a world traveler, documentarian, and all-around-creative person who was kind and gracious. 

We exchanged info, like you do when you meet while traveling, and kept in touch over the years via the occasional Facebook exchange or text.

This past December I got the idea in my head that I'd finally make good on my many threats to write by way of sending a Christmas card. When I pinged her for a good mailing address, I didn't expect more of a response than that. People are busy and it had been a long time. I was just tickled when she offered a bit of newsy catch-up in addition to her address.

This is the beauty of it all. 

Free of expectations, when contact or connection comes, you can receive it as the gift it most certainly is.

Darina

The lake

Phil, Matt, Ruben, me

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 010

Monday, February 15, 2021

Recipient:

The little girl in the parking lot @ King Soopers, University, Denver

Kids are masters of unfettered joy.

She was prancing around the produce section, and then dancing and skipping her way through the parking lot with her mom as Mike and I headed to the car with our bags.

It made me laugh out loud.

*ding-ding-ding*

I was in the car, urgently scrawling the award message when Mike noted, "You better hurry up, they're about to drive away."

Oh.

Well, who doesn't love sprinting up to a complete stranger and her child as they're about to drive away from the grocery store?

I reached them in time and handed the message through the partially open car door with a quick explanation that I was pretty certain wasn't sufficient reassurance of my good intentions and general sanity. 

No pictures were taken.

This is the part where, yet again, we practice letting go of the outcome. 

I have no control over how my gesture is received and that's not what this is about anyhow. 

The giving is the point, full stop.

Since "practice" is the operative word, I was too busy navigating myself away from a shame spiral to notice what was happening until Mike poked me in the arm and pointed it out -- Mom and kid merrily waving at us as they rolled past. That was nice.

Still, when we both turned left out of the parking lot, I intentionally switched lanes and let them get ahead of us so it wouldn't feel like we were following them. No sense in pushing my luck.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 009

Friday, February 12, 2021

Recipient(s):

Murray the dog and his human, Laura @ Stella's Coffee, Platt Park

No explanation required. Just know that the picture does not do him justice. 💓

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 008

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Recipient: 
Chris M. and the crew @ Colore Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, Denver

Five Reasons Chris / His Crew Deserves This Award

1. Look at the guy. Even masked up, you can tell he's smiling. He loves his work, especially the part where he can go around to the tables and chat with his customers. (As you can well imagine, the pandemic has been hard on him and the business. And still he smiles.)
2. The food and atmosphere are excellent.
3. He's a fellow fohmah New Englandah and it's fun to break into a wikkid Massachusetts accent with him.
4. The service is fantastic. Seriously, where does he find all these nice people?
5. Prior to the pandemic closures, for...eight years? ten years?...he had allowed a group of musicians who took classes at Swallow Hill to stay after hours on Wednesday nights to sit around, have a few drinks, and jam. Ask any of these regulars and they will tell you that those evenings were the highlights of their weeks and their lives. I will tell you that those evenings allowed me to meet people who have become my most beloved friends. It has meant the world to us for him to be to so generous with his time.

Thank you again, Chris & company, from the bottom of my heart.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: Day 007

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Recipient: 
The older gentleman at Duffeyroll Cafe Bakery, Platt Park, Denver

I am replaying the scene in my mind: man walks into cafe, man places order, man sits down at a table.

There were no grand gestures or anything particularly dramatic on offer from him.

Friendly chatter with the staff, a "hello" to one patron, a nod to another.

So, why the award?

Simple acknowledgement.

It used to be a social requirement: you pass someone, you extend a greeting. I don't know when we decided that it wasn't necessary, but I think maybe it was a misstep to let these small niceties fall by the wayside.

I wrote the note, put it on his table, and walked away.

"Dear Sir,

Your friendly manner was a bright spot in my day -- 

Thank You!

With gratitude,

Michelle"

Note:

Sometimes it's the little things.