r/wholesome

Wholesome because, of course! How can this situation (each neighbour wanting to let the other know how much we appreciate each other) be anything other than wholesome?

I'm struggling a bit. I love my neighbour: we live in a small group of units and she's been here as long as I have. We've never been especially close because she's older and retired and I work away a lot but we've always had a 'please water my plants' type situation and always got on so well, chatting when we met. She's my favourite out of the immediate neighbours.

About 18 months ago she was diagnosed with some sort of cancer: it came on suddenly and she went from fully well to not so much. At the time I volunteered my services, although she never took me up on it. I used to cook meals and leave them for her.

I think she's had a relapse. There was an ambulance when I was away and she was in hospital for ten days. I made a whole box of food - sandwiches that could be eaten fresh or toasted, soup, fruit, bread and milk...

Tonight there was a bag outside my back door. My containers and a bottle of wine. I really don't want her to think she has to repay me every time. I've told her in the past how much I love cooking and how happy I am to help my neighbours out. But then again, I would feel awkward about accepting help from anyone.

I've decided to rename the wine the "Bottle of Friendship" and I'm returning it tonight with cookies.

I got my first cat last august. His early life with me was probably traumatic. He had to have a leg removed because of an injury he sustained probably when he was a tiny kitten (stray kitten never claimed), we were living with my ex who was renovating his house so it was loud all the time, we constantly had strangers around, etc.

My cat loves me. Sometimes I worry he hates me but I wake up in the middle of the night and he’s asleep on my wrist hugging my arm. He will fall asleep rag doll levels of relaxed on his back right next to me as I’m doing chores. When I come home he runs out to meow at me. He hates other people but he’s always absolutely trusted me. He doesn’t scratch during baths even though he hates it. I can introduce him to something he’s scared of and if I’m telling him it’s fine, he puts up with it. I genuinely have no clue how I did this. I love him so much and he adores me and sometimes I get so emotional about it that I cry. I took him someplace where I left him alone and he woke up missing his leg and his boy parts and he still absolutely trusts me. He’s my first cat. How did I do such a good job that he loves me this much???

Me (46 f) him (46 m) we’ve been together for 18yrs married for 7.
We have our issues and like most people could probably do with some therapy but all that aside I have a good one.
He’s the first one to check on how I’m doing. He gets me treats randomly. He’s never forgotten a birthday, anniversary, Xmas, Mother’s Day. He encourages me to try new things and maintain my hobbies. Though he isn’t an extrovert he encourages me to see my friend and is a sport when I drag him with me.
He’s the best dad around. I can’t imagine a better one for our kiddo. He’s taking care of his mom and is unfailingly kind to my mother. He’s always come to my defense when I’ve needed it and he hold me accountable on my bs. I know there are days I wouldn’t have made it without him in my life. We don’t really post to fb or anywhere as he’s got a job that is not great for that and my friends are probably sick of hearing about how great he is. So here I am in the wild blue yonder of Reddit telling the void. Thanks for reading!

Some months back I was feeling heavy – not the heavy of a crisis, but that everyday weight work deadlines, noise all day long, way too much screen time. I needed something easy to turn down the noise in my brain and one weekend I set up a couple of bird feeders outside my bedroom window, frankly expecting it to be a short-lived experiment. The first couple of days yielded nothing and I started wondering if I’d just wasted a few bucks, then on one particular Tuesday morning, a little Finch landed cautiously on the edge, pecked, and was gone. More birds followed. Different sizes, different colors, with different styles and paces of life, and soon the ritual of my early morning cup of tea, punctuated by the peaceful whirr of small wings was all I anticipated on my way to facing another day without interruption to the precious pre-work hour. Soon I was spending time watching which type of seed got eaten first, figuring out placement that afforded a better view without being intrusive, even Googling how to attract different types of birds. One afternoon while browsing an Alibaba type online marketplace to see the designs that others out there were using to welcome feathered friends into their spaces (mostly out of idle curiosity) , I was struck with the absurdity of it all – my days often so hectic… and yet a couple of dollars worth of seeds and plastic containers have given me a tiny refuge of calm. has anyone discovered an unlikely littlehobby that is a daily sanctuary for them?

r/wholesome

A highlight of each year growing up was our vacation to California, to see our grandparents and uncle. He was a natural goofball. always cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. He had an awesome job, too, driving steam trains for a historical railroad. We loved hearing his stories about trains breaking down and trying to make it up the mountain. I always used to wish I could see him and my grandparents more often. 

Then life happened. He got married and moved away, but the marriage was bad and short-lived. She took him for all he was worth. His bounced between states for the next decade. He got another rail job in Colorado and things were looking up, until the management changed and screwed him over. Another move, another crappy job. We didn’t hear or see much of him during these years, for different reasons. There were some hard feelings between him and my Dad about things. But for a long time, I had no idea where my uncle was or what he was doing. I knew he was alive, and that was it.  

Eventually, something sparked a change of heart. This month he finally came to Washington State where I and my family live. We love having him here. He doesn’t want to move far again. And for the first time in my life, I shared a beer with my uncle. As a person of faith I see God’s hand in our lives bringing us together, but even if God had nothing to do with this, I don’t care. My uncle is home. He can stay forever.

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