The Joy Crazy Life 🌼

I recently had a cavity filled. 🦷

Now, I know that may not sound like the most joyful way to start a newsletter, but stick with me.

I’ve had challenges with my teeth all my life as part of my birth defect, so dental appointments aren’t exactly my favorite thing. And this wasn’t just a cleaning. There was drilling involved. And anesthesia. And, well… a little potential discomfort.

But as I was getting dressed the morning of my appointment, I spotted my pink sweatshirt with a big happy face and the words "KEEP SMILING" on it and thought, Why not?

I figured the dentist and his team might get a chuckle out of it.

They did.

Everyone who saw my sweatshirt smiled, including my dentist. And suddenly I realized that maybe the sweatshirt (see photo below) wasn’t just going to change my mood. I could bring a little joy into the room for the people who were taking care of me, too.

So I did my best to be a good patient—and really paid attention to each detail of my visit.

My dentist does something I really appreciate: he gives me a play-by-play of what’s coming next. He warns me about what I might feel and explains what he’s doing as he goes. I paid attention, and at the end I told him he might have a future in sports broadcasting because he gives a pretty great play-by-play.

He got a good laugh out of that.

I also noticed how seamlessly he and his assistant worked together, so I made sure to tell them what a great team they were.

And while I was lying there getting my cavity filled, I watched adorable bunny videos on the TV—mounted on the ceiling—above the chair. I thanked them for the cute videos too.

They were doing their best to make the appointment as painless—and as joyful—as possible.

So what could I do in return?

I could bring a little joy with me.

Shine. Learn. Connect.

This is what Joy Crazy is all about.

😀 Shine: I showed up with a smile—and a ridiculous happy-face sweatshirt.

👏 Learn: I paid attention to what my dentist and his assistant were doing and found little opportunities to encourage their teamwork.

😂 Connect: I let them know I appreciated their work, shared a laugh, and made the appointment a little more human.

Here I am in the sweatshirt that made my dentist and his team laugh.

We can’t always choose what happens to us. But we can often choose a little bit about how we show up.

Sometimes that might mean wearing a silly sweatshirt.

Sometimes it might mean offering a compliment or a hug.

You never know when the little bit of light we bring into a room might be just what someone else needs.

And speaking of showing up…

I’ll be wearing my Together For Good* Ambassador hat again this Thursday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m. for a Friendly House Community Session.

This is a chance for the people who use Friendly House—including all of us pickleball folks—to listen, learn, and share what we’d like to see for the future of the Crawford Building and community center.

I’d love to see some friendly pickleball faces there! 🏓

And if you’d like to make an evening of it, I’m going to meet up beforehand, about 5:30 p.m. at Friendship Kitchen, the Vietnamese/Singaporean restaurant just a block away on NW Thurman Street. 🥢🍜🍚

Just "reply" to this email if you would like to come join me for a bite, then we can head over to the Community Session together.

Warmly yours,