Falling in Love, Adorable Cat Cuteness, the Power of Music, and More Links I Love

Posted on February 21, 2017 by SloanParker

Links I Love header

Every month I share some of my favorite links, real-life stories, and other items that I find beautiful and inspiring. I hope you find something that makes you learn, laugh, smile, or just go awwwww.

ADORABLE

Guy Saves Tiny Kitten – How cute are they?
14-year Old Boy Dives into Overpass to Save Cat Hanging Over Bridge – What a sweet, brave kid.
Attentive Student – What a cutie!
Cat Loves His Baby Brother – This cat was lonely so his family got him his very own kitten and the result is all kinds of adorableness.

LOVE THIS

A lucky and loved rescued golden retriever – How great is the guy who took him in?
Watch fathers tell their adult kids the moment they knew they were gay – Such cute interactions.
The Power of Music – I hadn’t heard of people using this with Parkinsons patients. What a difference. Loved the dancing at the end.

BEAUTIFUL LOVE

15 of the best LGBT ‘Humans of New York’ stories – Beautiful people and relationships. Although #9 will break your heart.
Falling in love in wartime Iraq – What a journey they’ve been through.
This foster father takes in only terminally ill children – I know this sounds beyond depressing, but it’s definitely a must-read.

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH – It’s amazing the things we never learned in American History class in school:

Meet Octavius Catto – He fought for black civil rights a century before Martin Luther King, Jr.
Meet Bayard Rustin – A activist for both civil rights and gay rights.
Meet Eugene Bullard – The only African American pilot to fly in WWI. But he never flew for the United States.
Meet Fannie Lou Hamer – She worked to secure social, economic, and political rights for African Americans.

Celebrate Love, Good People, and other Links I Love

Posted on January 19, 2017 by SloanParker

Every month I gather some of my favorite links, real-life stories, and other items that I’ve seen on social media and share them with you. I hope you find something to make you laugh, smile, or just go awwwww.

CELEBRATE LOVE

Learning English – If you haven’t seen this charming video yet, you’ve got to check it out.
First Date With A Man – An adorable story of a chance meeting.
For True Love – He was madly in love, and thanks to a note taped to a window, he got to see his sweetheart again.
Daughter asks for pride flag for Christmas, her dad does her one better – what a great dad!

TOO FUNNY

Student Emails Her Teacher While Hopped Up On Drugs After Surgery – My favorite part: love you bye.
39 Hilarious Mom Fail Photos – I’m not a mom, but I’m so forgetful and a total disaster that I just know if I had kids I’d make these lists ALL THE TIME.
The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week – If you’ve never caught The Huffington Post’s Funniest Tweets series, you should check it out. They make me laugh every week.

NOW THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE

A cat with cerebellar hypoplasia and his loving family. – CH is a non-life threatening condition and is not painful for the animal. My dad’s cat has a mild version of CH, and she’s as happy as can be. You can also see more from this cat and his family on Instagram.
Someone has invented this amazing shake-resistant, smart spoon – a life changer for many people.
One good thing – I loved the one question this mom asked her kids every day.
Woman tracks down stranger who hugged her in saddest moment of her life– the world needs more people like this.
Homeless people are reconnecting with their loved ones thanks to this startup – I absolutely LOVE this idea.

ADORABLE

This guy was deployed in Afghanistan when he met a loving stray dog — and knew he had to find a way to get him back home. You can follow them on Instagram.
Cat Found Protecting Kittens Left in the Cold, but the Cat is Not Mom at all.
17 Of The Most Hilarious Cat Tweets Of 2016.
Just otters – because they always make me smile.

The Power of Words, a Voice in the Darkness, and Love

Posted on December 13, 2016 by SloanParker

Photo License: CC0 Public Domain

I cannot tell you how much I adore this story: J.K. Rowling found out her books helped save this baby’s life. Her response was magic. Devoted, loving parents, a little fighter who wouldn’t give up, and a lovely author and her gift. It illustrates the power of words and stories, a comforting voice in the darkness, and most of all, love.

My favorite part…

“Ahead of her lies the hippogriff and the golden snitch and the time-turner and a sprawling, dazzling world where girls are the smartest, the strangest people make the best friends, and you can’t judge someone until you see what they have seen. She will be reminded that no one gets through life alone, and children carry the strength inside them to right the world. I hope she will remember that she has carried a bit of that magic with her, all this time.” – Kelley Benham French, the child’s mother.

What we’re all longing for, pet snapchats that cracked me up, and more links I love

Posted on October 27, 2016 by SloanParker

via Inspire More

ADORABLE ANIMALS

31 Pet Snapchats That’ll Have You Rolling With Laughter – #2, 6, 16, 21, 30, and 31 are epic.
Best of Dog Shaming – These shaming pics never fail to amuse me.

LOVE THIS

Magician perfectly destroys anti-transgender bathroom argument in 2 minutes – He totally nailed that.
Amanda Sapir’s Story of “Socially Conscious” TSA Pat Down Shows How to Treat Trans People – “Don’t judge, don’t assume, just be thoughtful and kind. Simple as that.” Love that!
Couple singing Matisyahu’s One Day – Such a beautiful family. And the baby’s reactions…priceless.

GRATITUDE

Prompts for 30 Days of Gratitude – I’ve been keeping a gratitude log in my planner for a while now, and it really does make a big difference. It’s one moment of the day where I make the time to stop and really think about how amazing my life is and how fortunate I am in so many ways. If you’ve never tried keeping a gratitude list or journal, this prompt graphic is a neat way to get started. Gratitude logs don’t have to be anything fancy. Just one or two words a day can really help shift perspectives.

INTERESTING

The Woman Who Might Have Been D.B. Cooper – I’ve always been fascinated with this story, and this theory was really interesting.
A Post About Marriage and What We’ve All Longed For Since The Crib – “Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.” Who doesn’t want to know someone is paying attention?

LGBTQ Kids Finding Each Other, Orphaned Bats, and Other Links I Love

Posted on September 20, 2016 by SloanParker

ADORABLE ANIMALS

This Australian Clinic for Orphaned Bats is Adorable – I may have shared this video before, but they are just so darn cute. And what great people they have caring for them.
Sexploits of Diego the Tortoise who is saving the Galapagos species – Hard work, but somebody’s got to do it, right?

LOVE THIS

I’m So Glad My Husband Told Me She Was A Woman – I love when people share their stories like this. It brings a real-life, human touch to such an important issue. It’s harder for some people to justify their hate when they can see and hear from individual, everyday people rather than a faceless group or label.
An Open Letter To Justice, The Tween Girls’ Clothing Store – I love when people go out of their way to be supportive of others in their times of need. They may be small moments to the ones helping, but they mean so much to the people who receive their kindness.
20 Quotes From Children’s Books Every Adult Should Know – Some great ones from my childhood in this list. How about yours?

JUST BEAUTIFUL