This has been a craptastic year for world events, hasn’t it?  Stateside we have this election year that has been doing a great job of bringing out the worst in people. Not as bad as other things that could be happening, but still, a bunch of politicians sniping relentlessly at one another is not making me feel particularly happy with the government. 

Rather than add to the nastiness that passes for political discussion stateside, I present to you a random assortment of things I like to do or have done (and that you can do too, if you’re so inclined) to put some good in the world.

1. Celebrate a birthday.  Just because it’s a national holiday doesn’t mean the fourth of July can’t be someone’s birthday, so ask around.  Leave the red, white, and blue at home and show them this is their day, too.  (As a bonus, they might have birthday cake.)
2. Adopt a pet.  I’m a month late in posting, but Eloise and Malthus are now three. I was not in the market for a pet when they were found in a box outside a friend of a friend’s house, but they were only three weeks old, and I knew I couldn’t let them go to the county pound.  Three years later, they still indulge in the occasional kitten stampede or game of Whack your Sister on the Head, but mostly they are Very Helpful Wittens.  If you need your own Helpful Wittens, do a web search for cat rescue and the name of your city and county.  There are many, many cats in need of loving homes (pro tip: if you adopt an adult cat, they will sleep between playtimes).
   

   

   
   

   

3. Buy local food. I can’t tell you how much satisfaction I’ve gotten out of going to the local farmer’s market, getting to chat with the vendors and learning what foods are in season when. Everything at our market comes from nearby farms, and after learning how good vegetables taste when they are fresh picked, it’s hard to go back to grocery store veggies. Right now we’ve got chickens and All the Tomatoes.  Cooking makes for nice together time with friends and family too: although Querido is a reluctant chef, he is very good at preparing (and taste-testing) cuts of meat while I tackle the rest of dinner.
4. Give to a good cause.  I think everybody here knows that I am an unabashed Stephanie Pearl-McPhee fangirl, so it’s not much of a surprise I’ve donated to her team in the Friends for Life Bike Rally.  But seriously.  She believes in this cause so much she is not just giving her time to serve on the steering committee, she is also riding 600 km, and camping the whole time.  Imagine that.  Do you believe in something enough to bike 372 miles for it without the promise of plumbing at the end of the day?  Exactly.  That’s why I gave money.  If there’s a cause nearer and dearer to you, go give to that.  You’ll feel good.

Ok, everyone, do something nice, then get yourselves a nice cold drink and relax, because you made this Monday better than you found it.