You Can

The last couple weeks I've felt a little like I'm in an emotional rabbit hole. Nothing seems to be going right. It happens. I have a really hard time updating this site when I get into a mood like this because I can't think of anything to say that isn't either overly personal or might be potentially hurtful to someone else. So that's why there has been the big lag between updates. I'm just super grumpy and I've been biting my tongue.

A handful of years ago, I was working at a company where morale was particularly low and people were leaving left and right. They didn't have money to give raises, and there wasn't a whole lot they could do to improve things. One morning, when we arrived at work, we each found an empty can at our desks along with a letter from one of the likeable bigwigs at the company. On the can, there was a label that said "You Can." The letter explained the concept of "You Can," which, in a nutshell, is just that you can make things how you want them. We can't necessarily expect outside factors to all be easy and great, so when the going gets tough, you get a can full of nothin' on your desk so you can panhandling after work to be able to afford diapers...or something like that. Anyway, everyone thought it was ridiculous, and the likeable bigwig and yours truly both jumped ship not long after the "You Can" surfaced. The fact of the matter, though, is that sometimes you gotta just suck it up and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

In the spirit of the You Can, here are some things that I've done or seen in the last few weeks that haven't completely sucked:

Our old college friend Sarah came into town for a night with her boyfriend Dennis. Sarah is one of the nicest people I know, and it was great to see her. (It was the first time we'd seen her since our wedding.) She showered us with gifts, which was completely unnecessary but really nice. My favorite is a Pez dispenser she got for Pat from the Norman Rockwell Museum. How cool is this?

Days after, a different old college friend named Sara came into town for a night. I met up with her at LUX and got to meet her husband, Brian, who is one of those people you immediately like and feel comfortable with, like you feel like you could tell him about the time the gang of senior girl bullies picked on you in the ninth grade and how you still fear wearing hats because of it, and how he would actually care and be able to say something to make you think maybe you could wear a hat again someday. (I resisted spilling my guts to him, though.) They're good people, and I only wish I had gotten to see them more. Plus, there was free popcorn at LUX that night. Yeah, that was a good night.

This week, another old college friend named Amanda came into town for a night. I met up with her and our friend Sue and we went to Flight, which is a pretty cool wine bar. We laughed A LOT. Those people you can go without seeing for 12 years and then laugh with as hard as you used to laugh when you lived next door to them are GOOD people.

And as if that weren't enough...

I heard about this. I love that peer pressure even works on people who are old and filthy rich. Whatever works.

I also heard about this. Who knew mannequin arms could be so hilarious?

I also heard about this. I love that even NPR thought it was newsworthy.

Finally, I am very proud to report that my dad won a prestigious award in his field. My dad is one of those people who consistently works hard and is smart and humble and is good for the sake of being good. If I needed to write an essay for a college application about the person I admire most, I would write about my dad (with Ira Glass as a back-up subject). He is great, and I'm really glad when other people notice. Hopefully he won't be too embarrassed by my posting this video about it.

So there you go. Fran CAN get out of a funk.

Fran