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Security cameras showed a kid 'tearing it up' in his driveway each night. So he took adorable action.

He's like the ultimate Anti-Get-Off-My-Lawn-Guy.

Most of us had one of those neighbors growing up—the one who gave us the stink eye if we so much as looked at their perfectly mowed lawn and shooed us away if even our shadows crept onto their flower beds. There's a reason "Get off my lawn!" was a meme before memes were even a thing.

Then there are neighbors who rock. The ones who smile and wave through the window and share their fresh-baked cookies with the neighborhood kids. The folks who genuinely enjoy the vibrant energy that children bring to the block and embrace the idea of "it takes a village."

When one of the guys behind Canyon Chasers, a motorcycle enthusiast website, shared a video of how he handled a kid who kept playing in his driveway when he wasn't home, it wasn't clear at first which kind of neighbor he was going to be. But then he explains how his security footage showed a preschooler riding his bike around his flat concrete driveway every evening, and how he decided to do something about it.

And what ensued was the best Anti-Get-Off-My-Lawn move that ended up pleasing more neighbors than he anticipated.

How I Deal With Kids Playing in My Driveway | The Saga of My Driveway Racetrackwww.youtube.com

How fun would that have been when you were a kid? And how great that he made a new one each time it rained? And how delightful is it that people of all ages showed up to enjoy it?

Imagine a world where all neighbors were this thoughtful and generous with their time and property. More of this, please.


This article originally appeared on 8.27.20

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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

Upworthy/Instagram (Via lunaanddiogi on Tiktok), Music Crowns/Facebook

Looking for a reason to smile? Look no further.

Hey there, fellow passengers on this thrill ride!

Are we having fun yet? I don't know about you, but I keep finding myself wanting to yell, "SOMEBODY STOP THIS THING—I WANNA GET OFF!" All of these ups and downs and roundy rounds are making me queasy, I gotta tell you. And that last drop was a doozy.

While we're wondering what lies on the other side of the next climb or around the next corner, let's close our eyes and take stock of what else is happening. Smell the buttered popcorn and funnel cakes in the air. Feel the warm sun on our face and wind in our hair. Be grateful for the friend in the seat beside us, holding our hand as we scream on the descents and laugh on the straightaways.

We can't control or predict everything. But we can choose to find some good amid the chaos.

If you're struggling with the ride and having a hard time finding the good in the moment, this list won't fix everything. But maybe it'll give you a little reprieve and bring a smile to your face a few times. And maybe, for now, that's enough.

May we all be as jaunty and jovial in our later years as this awesome auntie.

I want to be her when I grow up.

The future of medicine is bright, indeed.

Aw. After the hell that healthcare workers have been through the past two years, it's lovely to see such a pure, sweet hope coming from the medical field.

Little boy sees his mom coming down the aisle and adorableness ensues.

The way he looks for her and the way his face lights up when he sees her. A perfect walk down the aisle.

A boy in Kansas sent off a note attached to balloons. A man in Quebec found them.

Incredibly, Reid Habbert's bunch of balloons traveled more than 1,800 miles with a note attached asking whoever found them to contact him. Cree hunter David Longchap found them on the traditional lands of the Cree nation in Quebec, Canada, and a beautiful cultural exchange resulted. Read the full story here.

This boys' school marimba band is nothing but sheer joy.

How fun is that? Read the full story here.

Blue Jays fan caught a homer and immediately gave it to a young Yankees fan.

Oh that kid's face. Talk about a moment to remember.

No idea who this guy is but he's amazing.

If anyone knows who or where this is, please share. Totally made my day.

Kitten discovers a sun beam.

I mean, it just doesn't get cuter than that. Kittens win, hands down.

Gamer's girlfriend surprises him with a visit from an online friend he's had for 10 years.

Proof that "virtual" friendships can be real friendships. So sweet.

This chipmunk's reaction to tasting an almond for the first time.

May we all experience something this week that gives us such rapturous pause.

Hope those little bits of joy made you smile. Come back next week for another roundup!

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Popular

Man enlists the help of a cockatoo for one of the most unique proposals ever caught on video

@7NewsSC/Twitter

As we careen through the first few weeks of 2021, we could all use a feel-good story. And what's better than a sweet proposal story to bring us all a bit of joy?

Jesse took his girlfriend Erin to a bird show at the Australian Zoo last week. (Since Australia has managed to control the pandemic, people are able to do such things. Isn't that nice?) The bird handler introduced the audience to Euli, a red-tailed black cockatoo, then asked the audience for a volunteer. Erin stood up and waved her arms, and when she was chosen, she assumed she'd gotten lucky.

The bird handler had Erin pull out a five-dollar bill and hold it in her hand with her arm out. Euli, the handler said, would know exactly who to go to since she was holding the money. Sure enough, Euli flew up to Erin, took the bill from her hand, and flew back.

Then the handler said Euli was going to take Erin her "receipt." The bird flew up, handed Erin a piece of paper. The handler told Erin to open it and read it, and that's when she got the surprise of her life.

The look on Erin's face is classic as it sinks in that Jesse is proposing to her. (If you watch him carefully, you can see him pulling the ring from his pocket as she's opening up the note.) She turns to look at him, and he smoothly goes down on one knee with the ring.

And of course—thankfully, because it would be really embarrassing if she didn't—Erin said yes.

Clearly, if Jesse knew Erin well enough to know that she'd immediately stand up and wave both arms when a bird show emcee asked for a volunteer, he probably knew she was going to say yes when the bird handed her a proposal. Coordinating the surprise was the bigger issue, and he and the handler pulled it off beautifully.

Way to go, Jesse. We've seen some creative proposals before (Remember the guy who edited the Disney movie?) but it's been a while since we've gotten to enjoy one of these in-public surprise moments.

And right now, we can all use this kind of wholesome feel-good story to brighten our day. Hugs and applause and all the warm gushy feelings. Congrats to the adorable young couple.


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Videos

A bride's bouquet toss 'plot twist' has people all up in their feelings

Rex Chapman/Black Couples/Twitter

It's a well-known standard of etiquette that you don't upstage a bride at her wedding. You should dress up and look nice, but not fancier than the bride. And you certainly shouldn't draw attention to yourself with a big announcement, taking the attention away from the big day and turning it onto yourself.

But what if the bride does that for you?

A video shared by @_BlackCouples and reshared by @RexChapman starts with a bride with her back to her line of bridesmaids, preparing to toss the bouquet. Traditionally, the woman who catches the bouquet is supposed to be the next one to tie the knot. But as this bride is about to toss the flowers, she stops.

Then she turns around, shakes her head, and starts walking toward one of her bridesmaids.

The bridesmaid clearly has no idea what's going on, and when the bride hands her the bouquet she just giggles. Then the bride spins her around to her boyfriend, who is down on one knee, holding up a ring. Aw, dang.

The joy of the whole wedding party is palpable as the bridesmaid squeals and then starts to cry. Her boyfriend's grin could not be wider, and the bride herself is beaming behind her friend.

Some people commented on the video saying they'd be upset if a friend stole their thunder with a stunt like that on their big day, but it's clear that the bride was 100% in on it. It's not like she was taken by surprise, which would have been tacky. There are stories of clueless people staging their own big moment during someone's wedding reception, and such stories are always super cringey.

But this wasn't that. This looks like a beautiful group of friends sharing not just one, but two very special events in their lives at the same time. The bride selflessly shared the spotlight on her big day, and in doing so got to play a significant role in someone else's love story as well—someone that she clearly cares a lot about to want to surprise her like that at such an iconic moment.

The video clearly hit people right in their soft spots, perhaps especially right now when so many of us have had to miss out on attending our loved ones' weddings. It's not clear when this wedding took place, but it's presumably from before the pandemic. These are the kinds of moments we long to see again, when we can safely hold big gatherings, when don't have to wear masks and mentally measure six feet constantly, when we can hug our loved ones with wild abandon.

Until that normalcy returns, we'll just have to live vicariously through these kinds of inspiring, feel-good videos.

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