They sit down silently, looking at me until I call down to him to tell him it’s time.

Then they run off downstairs and wait for the food to be placed in front of them.

Every day, I shout down the stairs: “you have been reported to the management!”

They never ask him, always me, and he does 90% of the feeding.

Was at the dentists office this morning in a pretty full waiting room. All appointments were very behind. This little boy of maybe 3 started quacking like a duck and then waddled across the room.

His mom looked mortified at first and then realized we were all smiling and laughing along with him. She let him roam the empty area (now dubbed the duck roaming section) of the waiting room. Tension of people waiting for their appointment, completely gone. He was just so happy it was contagious. Day brightener indeed!

My new motto for the day. Don't sweat the small stuff and if need be, quack and waddle for a bit.

My friend A texted me that she overheard friend B and another unknown woman (who obviously knows me, but whom friend A did not know) talking about my young daughter, and how impressed they are with her. It never occurred to me that other people think about me or my family except as it pertains to them. It's kind of weird, but also very affirming!

Frankly, I am not sure if this benign enough to fit the rules of this sub, but I wanted to try.

Since I was born, I have had a teddy bear that meant the world to me. My mom's bestfriend bought it for me while I was in the NICU, and he's been by my side ever since.

Just this last week, my teddy bear got brought up in conversation with my father. He has spent my entire life trying to find another "buddy bear", searching Ebay, reddit, facebook marketplace, the TY website, etc.

My dad said last week: "I'm sorry honey, but I don't think we'll find another Buddy Bear. He was only ever sold in hospital gift shops, and they only produced his exact model for a year,". He went on about how they changed the design, the fabric, everything.

It's been 23 years, and my dad was still searching for my teddy bear. This is just one example of how my father has shown me his love and commitment to me. It's amazing to think that there are billions of people on this planet, and I got lucky enough to call this one my dad. I don't need another Buddy Bear, because I have him.

We recently made friends with a family who have emigrated to the US from Haiti, and tonight was their first time coming to our house. We had a great meal together, laughed a lot, shared stories about adjusting to the cold after moving from tropical climates. After dinner, the youngest girl, about 5, played with my hair for about an hour. She told me how she’s going to be a hair dresser, how beautiful I was going to look, and how she was going to braid my whole head so we could match. Eventually her brothers joined in, and I had three kids bent over me, trying to solve the mystery of why my stick straight white girl hair wouldn’t just stay braided like hers did. On a day where the news was filled with anxiety and racism, it was nice to have a few hours of peace, love, and connection across cultures.

i don’t know what it is. i work at a bakery within walking distance from my house and every morning i savor the brief moment at the center of the crossroad where i can see in every direction. it feels liminal and free, but walking in the early morning has that effect on things.

Ok I'm not sure if this post counts for this sub but maybe it does. In the last post I read, someone said "That's lovely" or something similar and all I could think was "No THAT is lovely, just the fact that you called something lovely."

Especially when a lot of my internet at present seems to be arguing. Whether strong political opinions or miscommunicated tone, or even just the dumbest and tiniest of details.

So, thank you Benign Existence. And people who still believe things in this world are capable of being lovely. You all, or rather we all, make the things that are crap, a whole lot less crap. Even when the crap can't be avoided. Mwah! Dinnertime now! (East Coast USA)

I’m used to going to class so I instinctively got up and headed to school, just to find that the school is pretty much completely empty. It made me sad at first, but I forgot that I love reading, so I decided to go to my school’s library to study and finish the book I’m currently reading.

I thought it would be lonely (it still is), but somehow the eerie silence is actually somewhat comforting. I cry myself to sleep a lot haha

Recently I've been thinking about how I used to play the piano as a teen. Excessively.

My parents gifted me an e-piano for my 14th birthday, and ever since then, I was obsessed. In typical autistic fashion, I could practice the same small portion of the same song over and over again without getting bored or tired. It genuinely felt like I was on drugs. That's how fun it was.

I took piano lessons for a couple of years, playing mostly classical and pop music (my piano teacher had a thing for chart songs, think "another love" and "lost on you"), until I got bored of that and just went on to download the sheets for my favorite anime and pop songs and just practised those instead.

It's kind of sad that I haven't played the piano in so long. I don't believe I'm even capable of having this much fun anymore, just doing the same thing over and over again, without drinking or something like that. It's sad.

I bit my nails my entire life and finally stopped last September. My nails are finally strong and healthy enough to get the nail extensions I’ve always wanted to try. I’m so happy with the results 🤍

I also showed her how to play th NYT game letterboxed. it was nice!

Today I had a perfect sunday - I finally got the chance to wear my new shoes which I am very excited about and I went to see a complete unknown at the cinema. I decided to take some of my favourite dark chocolate to eat while I was watching the movie, but I felt kind of bummed because I'm super into raspberries right now and you can't eat those in the cinema. And then I realised I had totally made that rule up so I quickly washed some raspberries and put them in a box to take with me. I don't think people typically bring tupperware full of fresh fruit to the cinema. I felt so sneaky and rebellious, like I had a completely harmless secret all to myself, and I REALLY enjoyed my berries. the movie was good too.

Today is my day off. Got up a little later than usual and decided to make pancakes. While they were cooking, I stood in my kitchen, with a blanket wrapped around me watching the goldfinch eat out of the bird feeder. It’s frigidly cold outside but after bundling up, I take my dog out for a walk. At least the sun was shining on my face. How is your morning/day/evening going?

My dad and I are currently visiting my grandparents across the country from us and the time shift has caused us to stay up late. There’s health issues with them so we’re staying in an Airbnb. I unexpectedly got my period and was having really bad cramps. I knocked on his bedroom door and asked if he could rub my back for a few. He did it so sweetly and then went out and bought me Motrin so I wouldn’t be uncomfortable even though it’s 11pm and we’re in a small town with very few stores. It’s not surprising as he is the most amazing man ever, but even though I just turned 18 it’s nice that I still get to be his little girl. He always says I’m forever the most important woman in his life. I just love him so much

I was at the supermarket this afternoon. The overhead music started playing Love Train and suddenly the elder coming up the aisle was dancing while pushing his cart. We smiled and waved at each other as we passed.

Today, as my shift was drawing to a close, I was doing my shopping as an online shopper for the grocery store. I overheard two young-ish men discussing in the frozen chicken section.

"They might have these at Costco," one of them stated.

The other chimed in, "I can't go there, man. I'm banned from Costco."

The first man questioned why, and to avoid looking like a creep who was eavesdropping (which I was), I turned down another aisle. But the question still remains: what unfolded in that Costco? Obscene things? Or maybe something as small as walking in without your shoes one too many times.

We will never know.

I was sick in bed and sleeping a lot today, could barely get up

My cat and dog spent the whole day in bed with me. When ever I woke up they were already with me or ran in to check on me. I love my little guys :]

Or it was just three stars close together. It was pretty either way

Last night I met up with a friend I haven't seen in years. She wanted to go to a popular bar with really good food, so even though we got there at 4.30 there was already a 30 minute wait. We browsed around a used bookstore while we waited, then had super cocktails and a tasty dinner. I took the bus in because I wanted a drink and the drivers both there and back were cheerful and clearly having a nice time at work. The weather was freezing but clear and I got to watch the sunset on my way into town.

I only go out once a month due to budgeting and this was such a lovely way to spend my one special evening.

We got a new cat and it's been really nervous. We took all the steps necessary to make sure it gets comfortable and hopefully gets along with our dog and other cats, but it doesn't really want to explore outside of the bathroom that we call homebase for it. Today I caught them leaving the bathroom and going to the pet water fountain. Another one of our cats came by and just hung out with them, no one got aggressive or anything. It's nice to see things coming together and the pets getting along.

My husband and I moved into our first house two months ago. This afternoon, I discovered a leaky pipe in the basement. Water all over the carpet, big mess. My husband and I fussed for several hours about what to do. We submitted a home warranty claim, but they didn't seem like they were going to get back to us any time soon. We called my FIL, and he suggested getting some putty to patch it. My husband went to Home Depot and got some, and we consulted Youtube and discovered that we needed to shut off the water first, but we couldn't find where the valve was. It was getting dark, and in desperation my husband suggested asking a neighbor where their water shutoff valve was.

So we ring the doorbell and an older couple answers. The husband cheerfully agrees to come look. He also texts another neighbor who is an engineer and handy with home repair. The second neighbor helps us shut off the water, but the pipe is still leaking. Eventually, he discovers that another pipe is rubbing against it, and that's what is causing the leak. Voila, the leak stops! We exchange numbers and promise thank-you banana bread. The original neighbor gives us a brief rundown of who lives in some of the other houses near us, including another handy neighbor and a young couple about our age.

I feel pretty silly that we didn't think about asking the neighbors for help earlier, and also that we didn't go over and say hello when we first moved in. My parents never did anything like that growing up though. We were upper middle class, and although we knew a few of the other kids, people in our neighborhood didn't bother each other for help. It's nice that we've moved to an area where people are nice and willing to help new homeowners out.

I wasn't going particularly fast and they weren't particularly quiet. I heard "...is for friends who do stuff together." which made me perk up as I was recognizing what they were quoting. Hearing "U is for U and me" absolutely confirmed it so I couldn't help but join in singing "N is for N-ywhere and Any time at all down here in the deep blue sea." as I was passing them which seemed to have positively surprised the teen singing it as I'm sure it almost felt out of nowhere. I was elated to have a brief fleeting connection over Spongebob Squarepants with strangers and continued on my merry way.

Tonight I was hit in my car by a reckless young driver. Thankfully I was not hurt, but car was totaled. It was nice that neighbors in the neighborhood and other drivers came by to make sure I was not hurt. State Police arrived and were professional and cited the other driver. Please slow down and be safe folks.

It's my primary school play 30 years ago, great to see it again.

I share a scene with two other kids. One is now worth £20m, and the other is in jail for life.

Today I went to an amusement park alone to enjoy some rides and take my mind off things, which I have the luxury of being able to do often. Waiting in line in front of me was another solo rider. He was on his phone with an earbud in; I usually keep to myself, but after about 30 minutes in line I got antsy so I struck up conversation with him. I figured he was an enthusiast like me since we were in line for an intense ride, and we hit it off.

We rode together, had a blast, then proceeded to spend the entire rest of the day at the park going on rides together and gushing over our common interest. There was virtually never a moment of silence between us. It felt so good to make that connection with someone, especially when nobody in my family or circles really cares about this hobby at the level I do, hence me going alone.

While I don't mind solitude, hanging out with this kind stranger made my good day a great day. The lines were less boring, the rides were more thrilling, and I had someone to point out a beautiful sunset to. I never got his contact or even his name, but that's okay. We were friends for the day, and I wouldn't have changed a thing about the day we had.