Happy Tuesday, and welcome to Positive DONUT. My goal by the end of today's newsletter? To have you go from feeling like this: 

To a bit like this: 

Let me know which stories and sections of the newsletter are your favorites; I read every response! 

Have a fantastic rest of your week🥰.

–Kailyn

Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter takes ~3.39 minutes to read (902 words).

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I embrace change and look forward to great things.

👆 When I grow older, I want to be a part of the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage. 

The group is made up of 30 women (plus a long waitlist) in their golden years on a mission to save Massachusetts' underwater ecosystems. The Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) have been digging up trash together since 2018, free diving into some of the state's 900+ freshwater ponds,

How it started: Eighty-five-year-old Susan Baur founded the group accidentally seven years ago when she got a few friends together to help clean up a local pond. 

They started meeting more regularly, and their efforts took off during the pandemic – when the women were constrained to meeting outside and maintaining social distancing. Since then, they've collected hundreds of pounds of garbage from the ponds.

• The senior women find fulfillment in cleaning up the ecosystems, but they’ve also discovered the joy of community and friendships.
• “When I realized that it wasn’t about the garbage,” said Susan, “it’s about that we have discovered a way of repairing the planet not based on guilt, not based on common sense, not based on fear – but based on joy. [I thought,] ‘Hell, we’ve got something terrific.’”

The OLAUG members tackle about 20 ponds a year during their May-October diving season. When out on the water, the crew assumes different roles. According to Nice News, one acts as a wildlife lookout, swimming ahead to warn against snapping turtles and guide the others toward the trash. Another is the “garbage collector,” paddling a canoe or kayak and accepting the spoils from the emerging swimmers.

Since their founding, the ladies have collected tires, golf balls, cell phones, countless beverage cans, and even a toilet.

🏆 The awards are coming...This year, Susan was honored by the prestigious Explorers Club as one of its 50 visionaries for 2025.

“Extraordinary people who are doing remarkable work to promote science and exploration, but remain under the radar and out of the limelight,” the EC site reads. “These 50 individuals are exploring, inspiring, and creating the future – the future of the planet, life upon it, and the boundless possibilities that await us all.”

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• 👀 Step 2: The other players attempts to match their exact ranking
• 🎯 Step 3: Score points for correct matches, lose points for misses
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⬆️👵🏻 Continuing the theme of kick-a** old ladies: Meet JoCleta Wilson, a Home Depot employee who just celebrated her 100th birthday. The centenarian wakes up at 4am before each of her shifts to have breakfast and do her hair and makeup. JoCleta is a firm believer that maintaining a busy schedule – which includes working at the store two to three mornings per week – has been a main contributor to her longevity.

Read some more advice from other centenarians here. 

🔍 A petite, flightless grasshopper once thought to be extinct has been spotted in Virginia for the first time in nearly 80 years. 

🐒 Brazilian biologist Fernanda Abra helped design and build 30 wildlife canopy crossings over a 2,000-mile highway that slices through the Amazon rainforest. She was chosen as one of the winners of this year’s Whitley Fund for Nature Award, which celebrates grassroots conservationists.

🥚 Jackie and Shadow are a “bald eagle power couple” with thousands of online fans. The duo is currently incubating three eggs at Big Bear Valley in California. If any of the chicks hatch, it will be the couple’s first baby since 2022.

If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok lately, you’ve probably seen the “opening shift” trend.

It’s like working at a restaurant or store, but at home… The trend is the latest effort to romanticize everyday life by creating an “opening shift” for yourself upon waking up. By organizing yourself in the mornings, you can set the tone for the day – and yourself up for success.

✍️ How to do it:

1. Sit down and decide what your priorities are in the mornings. Whether it's to destress, be productive, or boost your energy, figuring out your main goal will help you determine what should be part of your opening shift.
2. Write down step-by-step instructions like you would for an “employee” in your house (ex: turn off alarm, get up, brush your teeth, make you bed, do a 10 minute declutter, etc).
3. Write down your morning shift responsibilities and put them somewhere you will see them – on the fridge, on your nightstand, or maybe on your bathroom mirror.
4. Stick to it! The longer we adopt new habits, the more likely we are to maintain them.

As a fellow night owl, I’m going to try this with you; maybe it’ll make getting out of bed a little more bearable🤪.

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It's time for What's Your Win, the section of Positive DONUT where we get to share and celebrate all of the good news happening right here within our subscriber community. Check out the amazing submissions we received this week!

👯‍♀️ Sandy S. from Oklahoma is thankful for her best friend…

• "My best friend, a retired counselor, lives in Oregon, which is a long way from Oklahoma! We're 74 now, and I'm living in the country, miles from anywhere, without a car. I can't fly now because my service dog has developed anxiety, and a plane trip would likely undo her. So my best friend flew out to see us with a little help from me. My life is very isolated now, and she's worried about me. We're looking up rural transportation and ways for me to meet people and make friends, and we're going places and having fun. It's pretty wonderful to have such an amazing friend!"

🤞 Mary T. from Dallas, Texas, is choosing to look on the bright side…

• "I just received some difficult news about my health. Despite the diagnosis, I am trying to look on the bright side - they have medication that can slow the progression (sometimes even putting it into remission), I also finally have a diagnosis to work with after 4 years of tests and doctors. I can now move on to the treatment portion and hopefully get to feeling better. I am currently feeling a mix of optimism and fear, but my optimism is tipping the balance."

🎓 Lori C. from Mansfield, Massachusetts, is proving that it’s never too late…

• "Last March, at 60 years old, I went back to school. Today I graduated from the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program and am officially an FDNP. I love helping and empowering people to restore their health. I'm proud of myself and am excited to get started! You're never too old."👇👏

Take your best shot at solving the following riddles. How many can you get?

1. What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?
2. Jared’s father has three sons: Snap, Crackle and…?
3. What type of cheese is made backward?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

Share your own wins... If you take a moment to slow down and recognize the good things in your life, you'll notice there really is always something to be thankful for🥰.

And if you feel compelled to share, let us know what you're feeling especially grateful for or proud of right here. Nothing is too small or insignificant to celebrate, and we promise to be your biggest hype-people😎.

Submit your or a loved one's wins here for a chance to be featured in next week's newsletter.

1. A jeweler sells watches and a jailer watches cells ⌚️
2. Jared 😉
3. Edam 🧀

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 forwarded this email to a friend or two.