The week's good news: June 7, 2018

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1. After promising to marry each other if they were single at 50, high school sweethearts tie the knot
2. The unofficial world's oldest cat celebrates his 30th birthday
3. 7-year-old has joyous meeting with bone marrow donor who helped saved her life
4. Canadian children's hospital receives handmade finger puppets from around the world
5. Toddler saves mom by dialing 911

published 7 June 2018

1. After promising to marry each other if they were single at 50, high school sweethearts tie the knot

Kimberley Dean, 51, and Ron Palmer, 54, briefly dated while attending high school in Minnesota more than 35 years ago, and while their romance was brief, their friendship wasn't — they kept in touch, even as they both went on to marry and divorce other people. Dean and Palmer said they never went more than six months without talking, and during one conversation in their 30s, jokingly agreed that if they were single by the time they were both over 50, they'd marry each other. In 2016, Dean reminded Palmer of their long-ago promise. He worried that a romantic relationship might not work out and their friendship would be ruined, but "I could see we still had feelings for each other," he told People. "And it's been fantastic ever since." Palmer proposed on New Year's Eve 2017, and the couple married on June 1.

Rubble's 30th birthday was fairly low-key, considering he's now the unofficial oldest cat in the world. A Maine Coon, Rubble lives in Exeter, England, with his owner, Michele Foster, and three other cats. When he turned 30 in May, he went to the vet, where he underwent a complimentary check-up and was treated to his favorite food. Foster said she got Rubble in May 1988 on her 20th birthday, and she's been showering him with attention ever since. "He's a lovely cat, although he has got a little grumpy in his old age," she told Fox News. Rubble is on blood pressure medication, but is otherwise healthy. The Guinness Book of World Records says Scooter, a Siamese, broke the record for world's oldest cat when he turned 30 in 2016; he died not long after his milestone birthday.

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There were tears when Adriana Aviles and Mike Laureano met, but they were tears of joy and gratitude. Aviles, 7, was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. She needed a bone marrow transplant, and Laureano, 29, had signed up to be a donor during a drive at his university. "I was a healthy individual living my life, so if I could help allow someone else to do the same then I, as a human being, have an obligation to do so," he told Inside Edition. The Be the Match organization lets donors and recipients meet a year after the donation is made, and Aviles decided she was ready to connect with Laureano. When he arrived at her Cleveland home, she ran into his arms and started to sob, telling him, "Thank you so much." Her mother, Jessy Aviles, told Inside Edition the family has "a bond with him that will last forever."

For the kids who have to spend time at IWK Health Centre, a women's and children's hospital in Halifax, sometimes the only thing that can bring a smile to their face is a simple finger puppet, handmade by a volunteer they'll never meet. Kylene Mellow, the hospital's manager of volunteer resources, told The Star Halifax that for two decades, IWK Health Centre has accepted handmade finger puppets to pass out to patients, their families, and visitors. Volunteers from around the world make the different kinds of puppets — some knitted, others crocheted or sewed together — and after the hospital announced in September 2016 they were running low, thousands upon thousands were sent in. Now, there are about 75,000 finger puppets in storage. For patients, being able to pick out a finger puppet gives them a feeling of "empowerment," Mellow said. She estimates that about 1,000 finger puppets are distributed every month.

When Miranda Craig passed out while doing the dishes at her Texas home, her 3-year-old daughter Dorothy knew exactly what to do: call 911 on her mom's cellphone. As Dorothy's 5-month-old brother cried in the background, the toddler told the dispatcher her name and that her mom, who suffers from narcolepsy, was "on the ground." Sheriff's deputies tracked the cellphone and found the family by going door-to-door. Miranda taught Dorothy to call 911 when her daughter was very little. "She's done it for me twice now," she says. "She's my little hero."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.