Me on my way to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner later this week: 

A very happy Tuesday to you, and welcome back to another edition of Positive DONUT, where we get to "oooh" and "ahhh" at all of the good still happening in the world. 

And what better time of year to be grateful for the good around us than the holiday season?🥰 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American readers; I'm very grateful for each and every one of you who takes the time to read week-by-week! Thanks for being here❤️.

- Kailyn

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter takes ~3.13 minutes to read (833 words).

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

I am enough as I am. I don’t need to prove my worth to anybody.

Twenty-six years ago, Makenzie Van Eyk, 9, dropped a message in a bottle into Lake St. Clair as part of a school assignment. 

As the years went by, she never thought anything of it. Until – Makenzie received a recent call from her children’s school (her alma mater) asking her to come in immediately.

• “I was really worried that something happened with my kids,” she told the Washington Post of the initial phone call. Makenzie’s daughter, Scarlet, 9, and son, Huxley, 6, both attend St. John the Baptist Catholic Elementary School in Belle River, Ontario.

Head fake: So Makenzie was understandably shocked when the school secretary told her that her message in a bottle had been found more than two and a half decades later. A kindergarten student found the bottle washed up on the shore, not far from where Makenzie had released it all those years ago.

The timing of the finding felt surreal, as Makenzie’s daughter is currently a fourth grader at the same school she had attended in the '90s. The student who found the bottle is also a student at the same elementary school.

The letter, which was typed up in a new state-of-the-art computer lab (at the time), contained a simple message about the Great Lakes, along with some of Makenzie’s personal info. Upon finding the letter, the school also reached out to her teacher, Roland St. Pierre, who had retired years prior.

😌 Full circle: Makenzie and her fourth-grade teacher met on the beach where the bottle was found to reminisce about her young school days.

Makenzie, who is an educator herself, said the story highlights the lifelong connections students make with their teachers. Per WaPo: “I think it goes back to the power of education ... and just the energy that you put into teaching and how it comes back around.”

Cornbread Hemp’s THC Gummies are here to add a little extra warmth to your holiday cheer. Whether you’re looking for balance, relaxation, or a gentle boost to your festivities, these gummies deliver…

• ⚖️ Balanced bliss – a 1:1 THC to CBD ratio for a perfectly pleasant experience
• ✅ USDA-Organic certified – the first and only THC gummies in America to earn this honor
• 🥳 100% legal in almost every state – enjoy with peace of mind
• 👩‍🔬 Science you can trust – third-party tested, synthetic-free, and precisely dosed for reliable results

LAST CHANCE – get 25% off sitewide plus a FREE mug with your Cornbread purchase. Use code TOGETHER at checkout – offer ends today.

😮 No, it’s not AI… Jyoti Amge, the world’s shortest woman alive, and Rumeysa Gelgi, the world’s tallest woman alive, met for the first time last week in celebration of Guinness World Records Day👆.

• Jyoti, who is only 2’1” tall, shared “I’m used to looking up and seeing people taller than me, but I was so happy to look up today and see the world’s tallest woman.”
• At 7’1” Gelgi felt the same. "She’s the most gorgeous lady,” she said in a video shared by Guinness World Records. “[A]nd I was waiting to meet her for a long time.”

👟 The shoe thief… Police officials in Southwest Japan were baffled when shoes started disappearing en masse from a local kindergarten. After setting up cameras by the shoe rack to catch the clumsy thief, they were shocked to discover it was just one sneaky weasel.

🦝 Representation matters… Carl the Collector is a new cartoon that recently premiered on PBS Kids. The show follows Carl, a friendly raccoon who adventures with his friends in their imaginary town of Fuzzytown. So what makes Carl so special? The cartoon raccoon is autistic, making him one of the first autistic protagonists of any children’s show on air.

📚 A homework emergency… A 911 dispatcher in Wisconsin received an adorable surprise mid-shift when she received a call from a 10-year-old looking for help on his math homework. After informing the child that 911 isn’t the appropriate number to call for homework help, she proceeded to assist the little one with their problem anyway.

The first meta-analysis looking at the association between gratitude and loneliness was completed in May. It found that the more intentional gratitude we practice, the less lonely we feel. 

And while you may be thinking, “Well yeah, obviously” – this first-of-its-kind scientific analysis provides us with real data to back up the findings.

All that to say – gratitude really is the attitude! (Fitting for Thanksgiving week, don’t you think?😏)

But Kailyn, how do I incorporate more gratitude into my days?

I’m glad you asked. Check out the list below with some easy ways to feel just a little more grateful for your day-to-day and put some into practice this week. It will help you feel all-around better in no time!😌

1. Start a gratitude journal. Whether at the start or end of each day, take a few moments to write down 3-5 things that you are grateful for.
2. Compose a gratitude letter. Sit down and write a letter to someone you are grateful for but may not have expressed it lately. Tell them how important they are to you and how they’ve changed your life for the better. Send or text them the letter and tell them to pass it on.
3. Get outside and stay present. Go on a nature walk and let yourself feel grateful for all of the simple things nature provides for us. Really see the leaves on the trees, the sun peaking through the clouds, and hear the birds singing.
4. Chat with friends and family about what you're grateful for. Ask your people what was the best part of their day. Share what you have been feeling especially grateful for lately. And celebrate your friends and family’s wins!

It’s time for What’s Your Win, the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good things happening right here within our Positive DONUT community. Check out the wins we received this week!

💪 Gracie W. from Kansas is seeing improvements in the gym…

• "After about two years of strength training, I can finally complete a pull-up!"

❤️ Linsey C. from Texas is making moves with her mental health…

• "The last couple months I have been in a depressed funk. I have been negligent with things at work and at home, lacked motivation, and procrastinated everything. The last two weeks I am out of the funk and I have been the most productive at both work and home. I just feel like a badass and proud of myself again. Nothing major probably to everyone else, but to me this is a big win!"

Whether you had an energizing conversation with a friend, beat a sickness, met a milestone at work, or even just booked a dream trip, we want to hear about it.

There is always something to be grateful for, and no win too small. And who knows? Sharing a bit of positivity from your own life could inspire someone else to recognize the good in theirs🥰.

Submit your wins here for a chance to be featured in next week's newsletter. We want to celebrate you!

Share your accomplishments – big and small – here.

Try out this quick Thanksgiving I Spy puzzle, courtesy of overthebigmoon.com. How many of each object can you find? 

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like Positive DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

🍁 THANKSGIVING I SPY ANSWER KEY 🍁

• Thanksgiving Turkey: 10
• Pumpkins: 8
• Orange Leaf: 11
• Corn Stalk: 7
• Apple Basket: 8
• Scarecrow: 7
• Turkey: 8
• Pie: 7
• Corn: 6
• Pilgrim Hat: 5
• Pilgram Boy: 6
• Mayflower: 8
• Cornucopia: 4
• Native American Girl: 2
• Crow: 5
• Pumpkin Pie: 8
• Sunflower: 5
• Fall Tree: 5

Source: S/o to overthebigmoon.com

Hit that reply button and let me know, I read every response. Have a great week!🥰

–Kailyn

P.S. Enjoying this newsletter and want to support my work? It'd mean the world if you told a friend or two about Positive DONUT. You can even win sweet, sweet prizes for each person you refer using your unique link (found two sections above).