Good news is everywhere.

I think we can all agree that we are surrounded by bad news stories. We need not look any further than a pop-up notification on our phones to catch BREAKING or HEADLINE news that is rarely good.
 
I am as guilty as any other consumer in that I have recently paid more attention to the yucky happenings in my world than the good that already exists. You and I can certainly dream up some delightful happenings right in our own backyard, can’t we?
 
Seeing as I live in the United States that is in a very contentious election season that will play out this very month, I have relished the opportunity to look for even the smallest of victories that come my way so as to lighten the emotional load that too often clouds my view of the world.
 
So here are a few dreamy incidents I had the privilege of recently celebrating:

• My husband and I celebrated having met each other on a blind date 28 years ago that changed our lives in such a very good way.
• Our two grandchildren have thus far managed to stay healthy, even though their school sessions started a few months ago. That’s a record because as most of us know, schools can be regular germ factories!
• On top of that, two of our adult children are teachers in the local school system, and they too have stayed healthy. Let me tell you, that is good news worth celebrating!!
• Our oldest daughter and her husband will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in just a month’s time and our youngest daughter and her husband recently celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary!
• The home of one of my nieces who lives in the region of the United States that was hard-hit by one of the recent hurricanes suffered physical damage, but my niece, her husband, and their teenage daughter escaped bodily harm. Homes can be repaired, but human bodies aren’t quite as easily fixed. It is now my dream that full restoration for all affected will be forthcoming.
• The two novels I wrote, Requiem for the Status Quo, and A Jagged Journey, continue to receive positive reviews! Requiem is dedicated to all family members caring for their loved ones with dementia. I celebrate that others have been helped by my own challenging experiences that were included in that memoir-like novel and I dream of a world that eradicates Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

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Majoring on the “minors” is a great way of living when positive happenings cross our paths. They are so very important because the more good we acknowledge, the less yucky the bad stuff will seem to be.

​Focusing on the good news around us is a healthy way to close out the current year, don’t you think? That’s what I plan on doing because the alternative just doesn’t seem very appetizing to me.



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​Irene Frances Olson
Author of Requiem for the status quo, a novel that celebrates and encourages family caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. You can find that book HERE.  In her second novel, A Jagged Journey, Ms. Olson encourages all who have ever hit speedhumps and roadblocks in their personal life, whose opinions and judgments about others may have taken abrupt and unexpected turns, to evolve and arrive at a place where hurt begets joy, where smarts don’t necessarily equate to intelligence, and vulnerability guarantees increased strength. Seems impossible, doesn’t it? Her new novel will make a believer out of you. Ms. Olson authors a blog,  www.babyboomersandmore.com, a multi-aged community of diverse interests that is also known as Living: the ultimate team sport. Her weekly contributions have been enjoyed by readers for more than ten years.