Six miles from the gas station and I’m already four pops deep. I can’t stop.
Something about the open road, the infinite possibilities mixed with the tiny constraints of a moving car creates chaos in my brain, I need something to focus on.
Lollipops. Delicious, grounding, and distracting. I rip through the wrapping of each new pop, the crinkling noises scoring my joy. It took me 444 licks to get to the center of one — an answer to a question from someone in the backseat. It did not take long to figure it out.
Now my colleagues get to watch me consume candy like a rabid dog, but I couldn’t be happier, I get to wolf down lollipops and they get to laugh at the insane person sitting in the car with them.
Have a Bright Spot to share? Send it to Managing Editor Julia Lerner (lernerj@denison.edu). Tell us about the moment that made you smile in under 200 words, and try to include a photograph. We’ll add it to our growing list of Bright Spots on TheReportingProject.org!