Joy Moments

Sometimes the most important thing you can model is stopping before you break. Lacey and Sara sit down for a raw conversation about what happens when two people who talk about rest for a living realize they've run out of things to give. Lacey's family has been through it, job loss, barriers at every turn, the kind of season where you wake up and realize you're just done. Sara's overbooked, overpoured, and clear-eyed about what happens when your resource cups hit empty. This isn't a rock bottom episode. It's actually harder than that, it's two people who are mostly okay, physically improving, financially making it work, and still choosing to step back because capacity isn't the same as energy. They talk about what it means to pause something you care about deeply, to say "I have nothing left to give" without shame, and to practice what you preach even when it's uncomfortable. Sara shares the wall metaphor that's been sticking with her: the wall isn't there to break through. It's there to lean against while you rest. If you've been running on fumes and can't point to a single dramatic reason why, this one might be the permission slip you didn't know you were waiting for. We'll be back when we're back. Until then, keep finding the small joys. Notice a good smell. Notice the leaves. We'll meet you there. Sara is starting a channel of her own about the pure joy of sorting. Follow @practicalhug on TikTok and we will point you to it from the bio once it has a name.

Sometimes joy shows up as a line of turkeys and a very serious crossing guard.Sara spotted a mama turkey doing what can only be described as actual traffic safety work, standing perpendicular to her little parade of babies, checking over her shoulder at Sara, then falling in line once everyone was safely across the road. More joys include Lacey's app-in-the-App-Store joy (Practical Tarot is almost live), and a handful of listener-submitted moments involving hummingbird moths, dragonflies, and a Cooper's hawk drinking from a Halloween candy bowl.

In this episode:

• Poodling. A new word, courtesy of SusanMe_77 on Threads, for what slightly portly pigeons do around a garden. Officially added to the vocabulary.
• Marshmallow coffee. May Frazier's four-year-old has renamed hot chocolate and honestly it's an improvement.
• A blank box on the calendar. Mr. Jim on the specific joy of long summer days with nothing scheduled and no agenda.
• A dog in a superhero eye mask. From a local ribbon cutting, and it was so cute it hurt.
• The hummingbird food incident. Sugar water on the counter, down the cabinets, pooling on the floor. Then Sara's son picked up the paper towels without being asked. That's the joy moment.
• An Easter egg hunt for grown adults. An office manager hid eggs for her coworkers. They kept score on a whiteboard.
• Operation Tree Frog Removal. A tree frog tucked under a fence cap like a tiny umbrella. Snug as a frog on a fence. The grill cover extraction was a three person job.

Settle a debate for us: whiteboard or wipe board? Comment on social and tag us.

Share your joy moment: practicalhug.com/submit — you'll hear it back on a future episode, which is its own kind of deposit.

Share this with somebody who could use a drop of joy today.

Sara on Threads: @stepswithsara (the tree frog photos are there)

Sara hosts solo this week and goes back to basics: why Joy Moments is a practice, not a perk. The episode is about what happens when you stop doing it, what happens when you remember to, and the gap between those two things. She talks about intentionally looking for the small stuff when the big stuff is hard, shares her own moments from the week, and reminds listeners that piggybacking on someone else's joy counts too. No pressure, no finish line, just filling the tank a little.

• Why joy moments matter most when things are hard, not when they're already good
• Sara makes her son stop in a strip mall parking lot to listen to a mockingbird
• A tree frog Sara can't stop trying to locate before letting the dog in
• A drive home where the to-do list was winning until the wildflowers weren't
• A Threads post about stopping mid-conversation for a sunset or a mushroom, and the comments that followed

Submit your own joy moment, a question for No Shame in Our Game, or apply to be on a show at practicalhug.com/submit

Heaven filled her fridge and cabinets for the first time in months and sat in her kitchen and cried from gratitude. That's where this one starts. From there, Lacey introduces Notorious BLT (a TikTok friend whose username she messaged a stranger to compliment) and his cat, President Camacho, who is wearing sunglasses and has a lot going on. A BLT tangent follows. Sara shares a text from Jim that briefly made her wonder if he was trying to warn her about lizard people, and talks through what it's like to communicate when your brain is mid-perimenopause and charades is the backup plan. Short episode, a lot of warmth.

• Heaven's joy moment: a full fridge after months of financial distress, and why she cried alone in her kitchen about it
• Notorious BLT, the TikTok username that started a friendship, and his cat President Camacho (sunglasses, distinguished, many unanswered questions)
• A longer-than-planned conversation about why BLTs are so good and Wendy's junior bacon cheeseburgers as a childhood gateway drug
• Jim texting Sara "the lizards are called salamander" mid-episode and the 60 seconds of genuine concern that followed
• Sara's perimenopause word recall update, delivered via charades at a live event

Submit your own joy moment, a question for No Shame in Our Game, or apply to be on a show at practicalhug.com/submit

Lacey has been sitting on a tarot practice for a year and finally figured out a format that actually fits her life — async readings she can do without scheduling a video call. She walks us through why tarot works for her as a thinking tool, not a prediction tool, and why getting back to it has her genuinely lit up. Sara took that joy ripple energy to Threads, where a call-out for joy moments turned into Rex Racer Graham sharing that his son's new guitar inspired him to finally get out his late sister's guitar and learn. Violet also makes her Joy Moments debut and claps for us, which is the correct response.

• Lacey's tarot comeback — why she abandoned it, how she rebuilt it around async readings, and why it finally fits
• Sara gets a reading and immediately finds it useful, creating a joy ripple she did not see coming
• Rex Racer Graham's guitar story on Threads, and the sister behind it
• Why 18 likes on a joy post still counts as a ripple
• Lacey's official defense of the bird conversation (yes, this is an appropriate forum)

Submit your own joy moment, a question for No Shame in Our Game, or apply to be on a show at practicalhug.com/submit

Violet turned one and Lacey has been weaning — which, against all expectations, went smoothly. The schedule that came with it, the consistent naps, the sleeping through the night, turned out to matter more than she anticipated. She's honest that it's also a little sad. Sara's joy is longer to explain: she's wanted to be a crossing guard since elementary school, she walked her dog this week, and a neon orange newt needed help across the road. The episode wanders from there — Lazarus lizards in Cincinnati, salamanders in a Massachusetts basement, movies neither of them can watch anymore, Joe's birthday.

• Weaning Violet after a year of breastfeeding — what made it easier than expected, and the feelings that came with it
• Sara gets her crossing guard moment, courtesy of a newt trying to cross the road
• Invasive Lazarus lizards in Cincinnati and why Lacey used to announce herself in her own basement
• The movies that have become unwatchable (Moana, Homeward Bound, How to Train a Dragon)

Submit your own joy moment, a question for No Shame in Our Game, or apply to be on a show at practicalhug.com/submit

We're getting nostalgic in the best way today. Lacey shares a joy moment that started with a podcast clip and ended in a group chat spiral with childhood friends—all trying to figure out whether Lacey actually did morning TV announcements in middle school or if she dreamed the whole thing. (Verdict: probably real. Probably.) Sara shares a joy moment from her dad, who's been combing through decades of family photos to build a slideshow for an upcoming reunion—and found himself overwhelmed with gratitude for a life well-lived. We also talk about the unexpected delight of stumbling across a shout-out you left your future self—and why gifting your future self a little surprise joy might be one of the easiest things you can do today. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the memory spirals and the joy gremlin.

1. 00:00 Welcome to Joy Moments
2. 00:45 Nostalgia as a flavor of joy — looking back, in the moment, looking forward
3. 01:00 Lacey's joy moment: morning announcements, gray mustaches, and "is this real?"
4. 03:30 The group chat that couldn't confirm anything
5. 05:00 Instagram saves the day: Somoene confirms Mr. Turner exists
6. 06:00 Memory, brains, and the teacher's pet through-line
7. 07:15 Sara's joy moment: her dad sorting old photos for a family reunion slideshow
8. 08:30 Counting your blessings, one photo album at a time
9. 09:15 Future self shout-outs: the joy of surprising yourself
10. 10:00 Hey, future Sara — you're nailing it
11. 10:30 Submit your joy moment + closing

What is a memory—real or half-imagined—that still brings you a warm, fuzzy feeling when it surfaces?

If you'd like to share it with us, you can submit your Joy Moment at practicalhug.com/submit.

We're not going to pretend the world isn't a dumpster fire right now. But we can make our chairs a little cozier while we watch it burn.

In this episode, we share a few joy moments—Sara hearing "cool beans" and "awesome sauce" in the wild, community members helping each other out, and the Olympic curling witchcraft that got us through a hard week. Joy isn't about ignoring what's hard. It's about finding support in the small stuff that still feels good.

00:00 Welcome to Joy Moments (and the chatty co-host Violet) 00:53 Joy isn’t ignoring the bad: the “dumpster fire” metaphor 02:56 Lacey’s joy moment: hearing “cool beans” & “awesome sauce” in the wild 04:11 Community joy callout: “tell me something good” responses 04:26 Joy moment #1: buying groceries for someone who was hungry 05:33 Joy moment #2: a client with disabilities lands his dream job (and hope spreads) 07:10 Finding joy in hard weeks: pain, dog snuggles, and Olympic binge-watching 08:06 Winter vs. Summer Olympics: flips, witchcraft, and giving it a real try 09:08 Submit your joy moment + closing thanks

We want to hear your Joy Moments.

Share yours at joyfulsupportmovement.com/submit.

In this episode, we talk about everyday joy moments—the ones you notice and the ones you create. Sara shares her friend Jim's $12 thrift store leather shoes and the compliments that landed from her Threads community, like being told "you may have saved a soul" and "a lovable dork." Lacey shares watching her teething baby and her son who just lost his front teeth discover they match. We talk about the difference between passive joy (noticing what's already there) and active joy (making it happen), and how compliments might be the easiest way to practice active joy. If you're looking for a simple tool to try today, this one's pretty accessible.

Submission form – joyfulsupportmovement.com/submit

[00:00:00] Welcome & Violet joins us

[00:01:00] Jim's joy moments - $12 thrift store leather shoes

[00:02:00] Sara's thrifting background & philosophy

[00:04:00] Violet's teething & Isaac's missing teeth moment

[00:05:00] "You have feet. I have feet." - niece story

[00:06:00] Best compliments from Threads community

[00:07:00] "A lovable dork" & other standout responses

[00:08:00] Lacey's Renaissance painter compliment

[00:09:00] Sara's job interview smile moment

[00:10:00] The power of compliments as joy ripples

[00:11:00] Active vs. passive joy

[00:12:00] Call to action: Give a compliment today

What's a compliment that's stayed with you? The one that still lights you up when you think about it?

If you'd like to share it with us, you can submit your Joy Moment at joyfulsupportmovement.com/submit

The Joyful Support Network Podcasts

Join the Joyful Support Village

Sign up for The Practical Hug Newsletter

Sponsor Joy and Create a Joy Ripple