212. Family Awards Show

On New Year’s Eve 2023, Nora gathered her family in the living room and made a big announcement: she was about to hold the first ever Family Awards Show. Everyone in the family got recognized for what they did well that year, and by the end of the night everyone felt like a winner. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

Nora: I’m Nora McInerny and it’s going to be okay.  I know that most things are not, maybe not most, but a lot of things are not okay. They never will be. And I started this show to try to find the okay in every day. And what I have learned from making this show for, I can’t count the months in my head, and I don’t want to do it on my hands in front of you, even though you can’t see me.

What I’ve learned from making this show is sometimes We have to make the okay thing happen. If you are hearing a grinding noise in the background, which hopefully you’re not, you know, that’s, that’s road work, baby. We’re always working on the roads here in this neighborhood, but we. I especially like to work on the roads when I press record, but making an okay thing is something that I have been devoted to finding the okay thing, making the okay thing has been a part of making this show.

And one of those okay things was an event. that I made up called Family Awards Night. We held it on New Year’s Eve, but only because I  kind of just don’t really love New Year’s and all the pressure it puts on people to be better, and what I wanted was to celebrate  what people in my family had done, whether or not it was something that they had even considered celebrating.

So everybody sat on the couch. Everybody was surprised by this. Nobody knew that there was going to be an award ceremony. Nobody paid attention to me as I hunched over little craft projects in front of the TV during movie nights. Nobody looked. And so everybody was surprised when I’d created actual.

Awards for everybody in our family. I had embroidered them onto felt and then framed these awards and I’m only telling you this because I used objects that already existed in our craft space and I made up awards  Someone got the most improved award which I always received in high school sports, which a lot of people would say means that you are not good at something.

I disagree. I think one of the best things that you can be is the most improved because what it tells me is that you’re putting in the work.  Speaking of putting in the work, I gave my mom, who is visiting, an award called A. A little embroidered A, as in a grade, and then you lift up a little flap and it embroidered the words for effort.

She got an A for effort because you know what? She’s in her 70s. She’s trying new things all the time. She’s constantly showing up for other people and she just started at age 74. showing up for herself. And I’m proud of that. I’m proud of that effort. Before every award was handed out, I would describe the award winner and then bestow upon them the award.

It was so fun. It was so fun. And there was no pressure because we’ve never done this before, and I don’t know when we’ll do it again. Maybe it’ll be on New Year’s. but it’ll be completely different awards. Everybody’s award was tailored to them. When you know that you’re up for an award and you don’t get it, it feels bad.

When you are just pulled together and given out awards that you didn’t even know you were being evaluated for, that feels pretty good. Because I was the voting committee, the MC. I myself did not get an award. I gave my husband the MVP award because he has truly been the MVP for all of us. He makes our lives possible.

He has helped me in so many ways, like even work wise, which I always thought was gross. I was like, ew, I don’t want to work with someone I’m married to. That’s sick. That’s bad. I don’t know, like slightly perverted, but he’s been  helping me out with work. He’s so smart. He’s so great. So they all got together and guess what award I got?

I got the growth award. I got the growth award, which I think was my husband’s way of acknowledging the fact that yes, I am 6’1 I’m not exactly 6’1 but I’m closer to 6’1 than I am to 6 feet, and I won’t let him round up to  5’11 so he won’t let me round up to 6’1 But it felt so good to give the awards.

Of course, it felt good to get one, even though nobody embroidered me anything, and that’s okay. That is my  special interest, not theirs.  But I would love  for  other people to do this. I would love to have random Acts of award giving happen. I would love to see you hand out awards Willy-nilly. The next time you have a party, the next time you have people over for dinner, the next time your family gathers for literally any reason, surprise people for an award and let them see you seeing them.

and the efforts that mostly go unnoticed.