Happy Friday! How was your week? Mine was – well… deep. I’ve had a number of very intense conversations this week about everything from re-defining forgiveness to the abuse of power in the church, and I also had the privilege of participating in a synchroblog about anger. One of the things I appreciate about the synchroblog conversations of which I’ve been a part are the diversity of perspectives represented; these conversations really make you think. If you missed it, you can catch my post for this month’s conversation here, along with a link list of other posts in the conversation.
On to curating the rest of the internet:
Some of my absolute favorite moments on television (which I usually tend to catch on the internet instead of on tv, lol) are those in which Melissa McCarthy makes an appearance on The Ellen Show. (Seriously, it’s been four years and I am still laughing because of the spanx story.) But her appearance this week might just have included one of my favorite girl-power moments of all time. She called out a reporter on the way he (and many of us) chip away at women and their self-esteem with our preconceived ideas of beauty as rooted in unhealthy gender constructs, but she did it in such kindness. Sometimes just slowing down enough to think can make all the difference. The Huffington Post took notice; I hope the rest of the media world does, too.
Speaking of girl power…
I have always been a night-owl (as in: the complete opposite of a morning person), but when I was in elementary school, there was one thing guaranteed to get me out of bed in the morning. Well, no – two things. The first was fried Cheerios. Best. Breakfast. Ever. (I still love them.)
But the other was the promise that if I was ready for school by 7:30am, I could watch Jem and the Holograms before leaving for school. Jerrica Benton was my hero; I mean, who wouldn’t want a secret life as a rock star? Successful business woman by day, rock star by night, and secretive advanced technology as empowerment: Jerrica had it all. I adored her, and I loved her music. My sister and I would stall, coats and backpacks hastily thrown on during the last commercial break, hats and mittens in place, so we could watch the music video at the end of the show, and then we would literally sprint all the way to school to make it to class on time.
Ah, memories…
All of which is to say, I cannot wait to see this:
One of our family traditions is watching the Triple Crown races every year. Two more weeks, and we’ll find out if American Pharaoh has what it takes to be the first Triple Crown winner since 1978; it’s exciting stuff. But a couple hours before the Preakness, I suddenly realized that someone was missing from the spotlight this year. “Whatever happened to Rosie?” I asked my mom as we were texting back and forth about the race.
Rosie Nepravnik is one of my favorite jockeys, and she’s had a brilliant career. I loved the interview she did with NBC last year before the Derby, talking about her life and her hopes and dreams for the future. Well – the future is here. Rosie Napravnik is going to be a mom, and is happily working as an assistant to her husband, trainer Joe Sharp.
There’s only one thing in the article I read about it that drove me crazy. Trying to be all race-track-analogy-like, the author played it off like Rosie’s happily taking second place. Baloney. (Only, you know, the stronger version of that.) She’s still doing things she loves doing.
I hope she comes back next year and wins the Triple Crown. I remember her reflecting last year on what a story it would be to tell her daughter. They’re having a son – but what a story to tell him, too. Horse racing has always been a male-dominated field. It would be amazing if she became the first female jockey to win the Crown.
Just sayin’…
There are about 18+ million things I could curate from the internet for you this week – but this post is probably the most hear-wrenching thing I’ve read in ages, ever. Read it. Weep. And then, please… DO something. It truly doesn’t matter how small/large your gift is. EVERY GIFT MATTERS. Maybe more than you think.
Again – there really are about 18+ million things I could curate from the internet that truly matter… but here’e one: 7 Examples of Shallow Leadership. I would love to say that I have never seen these IRL – but in truth, I have.
Sure ways to go deeper into health as a leader?
photo courtesy of ©Depositphotos.com / Wavebreakmedia
Re-evaluate everything (especially from the perspective of people whose personalities are polar opposite from yours)
And apparently I could have written an entire 7QT just about that. 😉
I had a text from one of my very best friends a couple of weeks ago, in reference to my last 7QT post. He said (and I quote): “The boring stuff in the 7 QT shows vulnerability and transparency. Don’t feel like you can’t include some.”
I defended myself: “Lol. I don’t feel like I can’t – I just try not to whine too much online. And since 2015 has pretty much sucked thus far… yeah.”
But nonetheless – point taken.
So here’s some of the “real stuff” from my gratitude list this week:
For more about that: subscribe to my weekly newsletter, and catch the inside scoop tomorrow. (And as a holiday weekend bonus, I will even forward this week’s Saturday morning update to you if you subscribe at any time over the weekend.)
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And on that note: have an amazing weekend, friends!
Grace and peace,
Happy
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Have a great weekend!
