The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 068 and No. 069

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Recipients:

Platt Park Neighbors

No. 068: The Mud Masterpieces

Mike and I went out to breakfast at one of our favorite haunts. On the walk home, we passed this house as we have done eleventy-million times before. I've always loved the whimsical ceramic creations topping the fence posts. They bring a little enchantment to the place. And given the enjoyment I have received by seeing these works of art over the last three years, it seemed like an award-worthy cause. 

Totally worth the discomfort of taking pictures at someone's house and walking onto their property to leave the award in one of the three possible mailboxes on the premises.

No. 069: The Coral Door

This was another case of admiring a decor detail in the neighborhood for a long time, and deciding to finally do something about it rather than appreciating it in passing. 

I do love a fresh bright color on a front door! This color literally makes my mouth water. 

And the smile on the tree was just an added bonus.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 067

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Recipient:

Meghan and Linus (?) @ E. 14th and Ogden, Capitol Hill

I was texting back and forth with a guy from Craiglist to make arrangements for pickup of a cute little drop-leaf table. I let him know I was on the way.

Me: En route!

Him: Great

Him: Let me know when you arrive and I'll come down and let you in.

Let me in? I don't know about that. Doesn't sound precisely safe.

So, after finding a parking space and wedging my tiny car into it, I did the common sense thing and STOPPED SOME RANDOM LADY WHO WAS WALKING HER DOG TO ASK IF SHE WOULDN'T MIND WAITING OUTSIDE WHILE I COLLECTED A TABLE FROM UNKNOWN CRAIGSLIST DUDE.

You know, in case he was an axe murderer.

And I would have asked, after waylaying her and explaining the situation.

She beat me to the punch by offering to wait outside until I emerged safely.

Said offer was rendered moot when I called him to notify him of my arrival. He came out onto his balcony and said he'd bring the table down, at which time my "friend" and her dog took their leave.

A small yet staggering act of kindness. It bowled me over. Which was helpful, because the next part was awkward: Hurriedly writing out the award, running down Ogden, crossing E. 14th, and flagging her down once she was in hailing distance. Then writing her name in. Then giving her the award. Then letting her know about the blog. Then asking if she would be OK with my taking a picture. Then taking a picture of Linus because she was camera-shy.

I am left with a warm feeling as I recall this generous gesture.

(I am also left with a stunned feeling because it didn't occur to me until way, way after the fact that I could've said, "Naw, man, I'd rather not go into a stranger's apartment by myself; perhaps we can come up with another solution?" instead. Note to self: Bookmark that topic for a future blog post.)

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 065

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Recipient:

Evelyn @ Duffeyroll, Platt Park

I've said it once, and I'll say it again 'cause it's still true:

Extroverts make terrible hermits.

The reason for the repeat? 

Today is Tuesday.

The last time I left the house was Friday.

Yes, it was raining for many of those intervening hours, like Denver (CO) decided to take a page out of Worcester's (MA) book, and that made it easy to stay inside. I was also feeling somewhat unmoored. Giving notice at my busy and stressful job was a positive step. I had been adding new pieces to the personal development puzzle -- Morning Pages, journal writing prompts from Don't Keep Your Day Job, Body Groove, meditation. All good stuff. Still, it left enough time for uncertainty to creep up and develop into lethargy. There were a couple of days when I sat back and binge-watched a goodly number of Cold Case episodes until I realized two things:

One, I really needed a shower.

Two, I really needed to get out into the world again.

This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but people will not show up on your doorstep willy-nilly and present you with opportunities to give them BRIGHT SPOT Awards. You (and when I say 'you' I mean 'me') must open the front door, point yourself in a direction, and start walking.

That's exactly what I did. I walked up to Duffeyroll and ordered some breakfast.

I sat. I ate my breakfast sandwich. I drank my coffee. I nibbled on my mini Duffeyroll. I stared at the hundreds of photographs of smiling patrons past. Then a worrisome thought intruded on my quiet reflection:

There is no award-worthy moment.

And because worrisome thoughts are not content to remain alone, the first thought invited a bunch of other worrisome thoughts over for a nice game of canasta and also to send me into early-stage freaked-outedness.

What if there are no more moments? What if I am putting out negative vibes and that's why the opportunities are not arriving? Am I losing my capacity for joy? Am I now so out of practice that there's no flavor left, like the last two sips of a Frappucino which tastes like melted ice plus a trace of mocha that's barely a memory plus sadness?

This is when I noticed the arrow on the picture.

I had seen the picture of the young woman in the Duffeyroll t-shirt, only now I could see the arrow pointing to a photo in the background, which is a photo of her as a little girl. 

Something about this just tickled me pink and got my thinker pinging with questions. What's the story? How old are the pictures? Is she an employee or just a patron who bought the t-shirt? 

I was looking around for someone to ask when I saw Evelyn, who had been working earlier and now happened to be sitting a few seats down at the big red counter on her break. I thought how funny it would be if she was the actual person.

She was not, but that got us into a conversation about pictures -- if the owner still photographs the customers (yes he does, sometimes), if people are more willing to be photographed (in this Age of the Selfie) or if they are less willing -- and off on tangents like how strange it is that people used to ask each other all manner of personal information to put into their address books and nobody batted an eyelash or found it stalker-ish, the continuum of pace of life and where Denver fits as opposed to NYC or a little town in Tennessee, on and on. And then there it was, that molecule of joy, how lovely it is to share a moment of genuine conversation with another human, and how it can turn the filter through which you're viewing the world at that moment a little brighter.

(I also want to mention for posterity's sake that it is she who suggested I bring the BSAs to TikTok, in the event I ever do such a thing. I'd definitely want her to get the credit for the idea.)

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 064

Friday, April 21, 2023

Recipient:

Hannah @ Little Finch, LoDo

Hannah was sitting at the tiny table for two next to mine when I noticed the oatmeal-colored canvas backpack resting atop her wheelie suitcase. 

My first thought was, What an elegant accessory! 

My second thought was, How in the world does she keep it so clean?

And because I am friendly, and also congenitally unable to keep a compliment to myself, we had a conversation that went straight to the heart in short order.

I admired the design and pristine state of her backpack. She mentioned how odd that was, especially since she worked with children (studying their development). Work talk led me to reveal to her something few other people knew: Three hours earlier I had given notice at my job. I wanted something more creative and free-range. Then we were off to the races, talking about meaningful employment and other matters of the soul. 

Her presence that afternoon was a blessing. She was a wonderful listener and a kindred spirit whose enthusiasm for her calling reflected how I want to feel about the next chapter of my career. 

Hannah, wherever you are, thank you for being open to converse with a stranger. 

It was exactly what I needed.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 063

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Recipient:

Michael @ King Soopers, Capitol Hill

First off, you need to know something: 

Some people have Resting Bitch Face, I have Resting Sad Face. (My mouth naturally turns down so my neutral face looks sad.)

Enter a guy, working in the produce department.

He observes me staring off into space.

Him: Can I help you find something?

Me, snapping back to the present: Oh! No. I was just trying to figure out what ingredients I might be missing for a recipe. Didn't write them down, of course.

Him: All right. I had to ask. You just had the saddest look on your face...

It rather takes my breath away, this brief moment of kindness and care. Because it is so unexpected.

Because a stranger notices something and then actually reaches out. 

Small thing, and really rather beautiful. 

By the time I finish my shopping and decide to give the guy an award he's on his break. 

Now what? Do I hang around the grocery store for twenty minutes and hand him the award in person? Do I give it to a co-worker to pass on? I decide to stay and wander through the aisles and try not to feel too much like a stalker. Totally worth it! I give him the award and he is nice enough to pose for a picture. 

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 062, for real

Friday, March 17, 2023

Recipients:

Kelli and Meredith @ First Interstate Bank, Cherry Creek

We were up against a work deadline on my actual birthday, so I took off the next available Friday, which happened to be St. Patrick's Day. 

Part of my day was about doing some nice things for myself -- fun, creative, pampering. 

The other part was about getting some errands done. 

You may be thinking, "Oooh, errands. The excitement!"

Well, yes. 

I was actually looking forward to getting some things checked off my list. Working from home for the last 15 years made me forget about silly little things like business hours. I now have an extremely busy J-O-B now, with limited time to do things like eating a bit of lunch, never mind calling the insurance company or the plumber.

How busy, you ask? So busy that I had been unable to find time to visit a brick-and-mortar branch of my bank even though one exists two doors down from my office. Yeah. I had to take a day off to make that happen.

My mother had sent me a check at Christmas meant for the four of us. The problem was that she made the check out to "Michelle, Mike & the boys". I was pretty sure my bank wouldn't be able to cash it, but I thought it'd be worthwhile to ask someone in person.

Kelli was at the teller window, so I handed the check to her and explained my dilemma. She looked at it and after a few minutes of consideration, called over Meredith.

Could Mike sign it as well? 

Yes, but "the boys" are named as well. 

And I imagine they are minors? said she. 

Yep, said I. 

They were trying so hard to figure out what in the world to do so cashing the check would be legal, and being so polite about it, and finally we all ended up in fits of giggles. In the end they couldn't do it, but it was a lovely exchange and we all agreed wholeheartedly that it was the thought that counted.

The BRIGHT SPOT Awards: No. 062...I mean, No. 066

Friday, April 4, 2023

Recipients:

The Secret Sisters ~  Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle

PROLOGUE

I grabbed the award at the top of the stack in my desk, not realizing I still had a few stashed in my purse. The next one should have been 062, not 066. Now I had a dilemma. Should I redo The Secret Sisters BSA on 062 and make a new 066? Or should I accept the imperfection and just use the one I wrote up as-is?

Naturally, I examined the situation in a calm and thoughtful way, and made my decision in a timely fashion.

...

Pfft. Come now, people. Do you not know me at all?

We saw The Secret Sisters on Sunday, January 22, 2023.

I filled out the award on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.

Today is Friday, April 7, 2023.

Perfectionism can be a powerful paralyzing agent.

THE STORY

We've been fans of The Secret Sisters since hearing their dreamy harmonies on John Paul White's "I've Been Over This Before" from his Beulah album. (That song still gives me honest-to goodness goosebumps.) 

We heard there were tickets available to see them and Jake Blount perform at a live taping of eTown in Boulder, and snapped them up right away. We had a lovely Happy Hour dinner at the Boulderado and arrived early enough that we were able to sit in the front row. 

Oh, dear ones. This show. It was marvelous, and mesmerizing. They have the same captivating energy as JPW. Everyone was transfixed. You could hear a pin drop. They played a bunch of songs from their newest release, "Saturn Return". Gorgeous vocals, stirring lyrics. We just loved it. And we found them funny and charming during the interview portion of the program. 

During their stage banter, they mentioned having felt, at times, like they were behind schedule compared to their peers. 

The notion made me want to jump out of my skin. 

For one thing, it's infinitely relatable. More powerful, though, was the indignation I felt on their behalf. I wanted to tell them, "Hey, what you do is no less than MAGIC as far as I'm concerned. Listening to your music is like balm for my poor abraded soul, and you don't ever have to feel like you're not measuring up, OK?" I had the opportunity to say as much when Lydia stopped by the merch table after the show. She shared that now that they're both moms, there's not nearly enough time to be concerned about those negative thoughts as there once was. I gave her a hug, and we chatted some more, and she gave me a hug. So sweet!

On the way home, Mike and I were listening to Saturn Return on Spotify and discussing the show as I held the signed CD in my hands. Mike, observing my happiness, said, "You should give them a BRIGHT SPOT Award." It had crossed my mind. Seeing them certainly gave me a lift. But I had decided not to. Not enough time at the merch table. And it would have meant breaking another rule floating around in my head: Don't give an award to someone famous. I'd considered giving awards to people like Robert Fulghum, Julia Cameron, and Elizabeth Gilbert because of the impact they've had on my life and creativity. Ultimately I decided the gesture would be too...self-promotional? Maybe they'd think the award was an attention-grab?

Then a song came on, one I'd heard yet didn't know well. I turned the CD over, found the track title, and laughed.

The song?

Late Bloomer.

Well, if that isn't a sign from the Universe, I don't know what is.

EPILOGUE

Perfectionism strikes again. 

I wanted to write a letter to go with the award. There's just not enough space on that little piece of cardstock to express everything I wanted to say. 

I started the letter. 

And I kept starting over. 

Then I switched to writing the post first, and kept starting that over. 

Then I went back to the letter. 

I finished it. 

I agonized over the fact that it's three one-sided sheets of stationery. 

I worried that the sisters would think I was a crazy stalker-lady or just a straight-up weirdo, or find my earnestness too cringeworthy for words.

Then I thought, Am I really going to ditch the whole thing because I'm worried about what they might think? Or am I going to listen to my own wise words and send the thing?

Exactly.

Grasping my courage in both hands, drove to the post office and popped it into the mailbox.