Some People Just Feel Like Sunshine

G=Goals O=Outlook A=Authentic T=Truth (#coateisaGOAT)

Sweet friend, I want to talk to you today about the people in your life who just feel like sunshine. You know the ones. The people who can take the most imperfect, slightly off-track, “well that didn’t go how I planned it” kind of moment… and somehow turn it into something you wouldn’t trade for anything.

So let me tell you about my Friday night.

We had an event planned for Locklin — a baseball game meant to bring together alumni… but, truly, in my heart, it was for everyone, teachers, students, friends of the college — all of it. Somewhere between the planning and the promoting, that message didn’t land quite the way I intended. What was meant to feel like “come one, come all” ended up sounding a little more like “alumni only.”

And well… let’s just say the turnout didn’t exactly match the vision in my head. Jenny and I showed up, found our reserved section, looked around… and it was just us.

And we laughed. I’m talking full, from-the-belly, can’t-catch-your-breath kind of laughter. The kind that sneaks up on you when you realize, “this is actually hilarious.”

Because here’s the thing — it was a beautiful night. Perfect weather. We got our Jumbotron shoutout. And the highlight? The group photo with Kazoo, the Blue Wahoos mascot.

Now Jenny was my wingman through it all — right up until she had to leave to meet her husband for their standing weekly date with their sweet baby Minkah (their goldendoodle, who, let’s be honest, runs that household).

So when it came time for the “group photo,” it was just Kazoo and me. Just me and Kazoo, sweet friend! And I am still laughing about it.

And then, because I am who I am, I went home and did what my current hyper-fixation-loving brain does best — I made a full highlight video on CapCut. And in my version? The stands were filled. The energy was high. The night was a hit. (All technically true… just maybe not in the way the perfect event was pictured in my head.)

Jenny texted me the next morning and said, “That’s a little bit of false information.”

And y’all… I laughed all over again. Because she wasn’t wrong. And also? It didn’t matter. Here’s where this really settled in my heart…Some people just feel like sunshine.

They don’t need everything to go perfectly to make a moment feel good. They don’t sit in what didn’t work — they lean into what did. They sit beside you in a nearly empty section and somehow make it feel full. That’s a gift. And I don’t take it lightly.

Richie and I were talking recently about someone we know who is constantly starting over — new job, new place, always searching. And it struck me in a way it hasn’t before… how deeply grateful I am that I’m not searching. I’ve found my place. I’ve found my people. At Locklin. At Southern Specialty. In the everyday spaces where work doesn’t just feel like work — it feels like community. Because the truth is, not everyone gets that. And I know how lucky I am.

The moments that make it all worth it aren’t always the big wins or the perfectly executed plans. Sometimes it’s a miscommunicated event, a mascot named Kazoo, and a friend who makes you laugh until your sides hurt.

Those people? They are sunshine.

So this week, I’m going in grateful. Grateful for the belly laughs. Grateful for the lesson (because apparently you can be really good at marketing and really suck at it all at the same time). Grateful for coworkers who are also dear friends. And grateful that even when things don’t go the way I planned… there is always something beautiful waiting in it if I’m willing to see it.

So here’s to the sunshine people, sweet friend — The ones who make ordinary nights feel full, The ones who turn mishaps into memories, The ones who remind you that joy was never in the outcome… it was in who you shared it with.

I hope your week is full of those people!