I have a Facebook friend who recently started a countdown to the end of what she calls “The garbage fire that is 2020.” If you share a similar sentiment, you are welcome to join me and my Jewish compadres for the Jewish New Year (called Rosh Hashanah), which begins tomorrow night at sundown. We celebrate, in part, by eating apples dipped in honey to usher in a sweet new year. We may also douse ourselves in hand sanitizer – not for any religious reasons, of course, but hey, couldn’t hurt.
We Jews also use the new year to apologize for any unhappiness we intentionally or unintentionally caused in the past. Apologizing is a very big thing in my household right now because I have two boys who like to literally and figuratively push one another’s buttons and are not sorry about it ever. Last night our 5-year-old was bouncing on his brother (don’t ask), and when our 9-year-old decided he was done with that scenario, he shoved him off. Unsurprisingly, tears ensued.
Me: Please apologize for hurting your brother.
9, deadpan: Sorry.
Me: Say it like you mean it.
9: But I don’t mean it.
I’d like to say I had a profoundly great parenting response that changed all of our outlooks forever; but in actuality I started to lecture about kindness, 9 interrupted with a relatively genuine apology, and the boys went back to bouncing on each other. So, success.
All of this is so that I can share my favorite meaningful apology, found in the Grand Forks Herald (date unknown):
Jewish or not, I hope the coming year brings you good health, lots of happiness – and, if you need it, a meaningful apology from 2020.
If you’re looking for some bright spots in 2020, check out this week’s news – about good customers, good friends, and good strangers. Read on:
This is the perfect example of small town North Dakota Nice: The community of Gladstone is rallying around Lea Madler, a beloved barmaid who is fighting cancer, with a donation box, a spaghetti fundraiser, an auction, a bake sale, and good vibes. (Dickinson Press)
Like old farming equipment? You’re going to love the Big Iron Farm Show, this weekend in West Fargo. (KVRR)
Fargo’s Emily Kingsleigh may look like a mild-mannered taxi driver, but she is actually a superhero who saved an unconscious man’s life. (Fargo Forum)
The newest comic strip in the Minot Daily News is drawn very close to home. (KX Net)
After Veterans Ayleah Peasley-Evitt and Greg Akason met at the Fargo VA, Akason started a fundraiser to help Peasley-Evitt get back on the road (instead of walking through snow). (KVRR)
Napoleon native Wayne Scherr and his horse Necker Island will soon run in the Kentucky Derby. (Napoleon Homestead)
Kendra Miller ran the Boston Marathon in Dickinson in support of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (and in honor of her mother and aunt) – and she had a few fellow joggers join her along the way. (Dickinson Press)
Fire prevention education at Manvel Schools has gone waaaaay beyond the typical “Stop Drop and Roll.” (Grand Forks Herald)
If you are a stepmom, Bismarck now has a support group for you. (KX Net)
Minot’s Independence Inc. has created a Career Connections program to take students with disabilities behind the scenes at local businesses to help connect them with careers. (KX Net)
Looking to get outside? North Dakota Parks & Rec is looking for volunteers. (Jamestown Sun)
After 79 years, Mandan’s Albert Renner is finally coming home. (KVRR)
North Dakota Nice 