Latest news with #appreciation
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
12 best Father's Day gifts 2025, tested on dads aged 30 to 70
Father's Day is fast approaching and this year it falls on Sunday 15 June, so there's a lot pressure to find the perfect gift. When it comes to showing appreciation for the dads, stepdads, grandads, and father figures in our lives, finding the right present isn't easy. There's plenty of mass-produced, macho, stereotypical tat out there, and none of it is quite right for making a thoughtful gesture. That's why we've done all the hard work for you, taking a deep dive into the market to find the best Father's Day gifts that are guaranteed to go down a treat. The key to getting it right is to tailor your gift to your dad's personality, hobbies, and lifestyle. Whether he's a foodie, tech enthusiast, outdoor adventurer, or simply enjoys a potter in the garden, there's a gift out there to suit him. Think about what he enjoys doing in his spare time, or consider a present that might encourage him to explore something new. There are lots of fail-safe gifts that almost any man would be happy to receive, too, including food, drinks, or a personalised present. No matter your budget or your dad's taste, we've rounded up thoughtful, practical, and fun gift ideas that will genuinely make him feel appreciated this Father's Day. How we tested To collate our pick of the best Father's Day gifts, we recruited a crack team of dads aged 30 to 70, each with a wide range of interests. We spent weeks testing every single product and considered everything from how much the tester genuinely liked the gift upon receipt to whether it was something they still reached for a few weeks down the line. We've made sure to include a range of options to suit every type of father figure, whether he's into fashion, skincare or considers himself a big kid at heart. Plus, we've kept price in mind, with small treats, luxury buys and everything in between to choose from. Ultimately though, the products that made the cut had to put a smile on their faces. Why you can trust IndyBest reviews Sarah Jones is IndyBest's assistant editor and has years of experience when it comes to writing and editing shopping content, so it's fair to say she knows a thing or two about finding quality products. Committed to helping you find the perfect item for your dad or father figure, Sarah has combined her bank of fail-safe present ideas with her shopping expertise to steer her selection of top-rated gifts featured here. The best gifts for Father's Day 2025 are:
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wichita County workers honored at law firm's cookout event
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A local law firm located in downtown Wichita Falls fired up the grill to say thank you to the men and women who serve Wichita County. On Monday, June 9, the Hoover Rogers Law Firm hosted an appreciation cookout across the street from the courthouse. They served hundreds of burgers and hot dogs, with all of the fixings, chips, cookies, and ice-cold drinks. Ben Hoover, one of the partners at Hoover Rogers Law, said it's the firm's way of expressing gratitude to the people who serve the citizens of Wichita County day in and day out. 'We set up a big barbecue here across the street from the courthouse, and one of my buddies is helping us cook burgers and hot dogs for the county employees just to have fun and get out and show appreciation for hard-working folks,' Hoover said. Hoover added that several hundred county employees attended, including county judges, commissioners, deputies, clerks, and road workers. He said the firm tries to host some community event every few months and hopes to continue doing so in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
28-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
3 Ways To Tell If You're In The Relationship You Deserve, By A Psychologist
If you answer 'no' to these three questions, then they probably aren't the one. Here's why, ... More according to research. If you asked anyone what the true litmus test is for a relationship, you'd hear a slew of buzzwords in response: honesty, respect, communication, commitment. In fairness, most people are correct in assuming that these are important aspects of a relationship. But, at the same time, only a rare few know exactly what these look like in practice. In other words, most people have a good idea of what they need, but often fail to recognize whether or not they're actually getting it in their relationship. However, with psychological insight, there are a few different ways to figure this out. Below are three yes-or-no questions. A 'yes' means you're probably in good hands, but a 'no' might mean that you're settling for less than you should. Before immediately saying yes, it's important to differentiate between gratitude and platitudes. Specifically, if you think that 'Gee, thanks' is enough to convey genuine appreciation, then you're mistaken. According to a 2023 study from Current Opinion in Psychology, appreciation is a dyadic experience. In other words, it involves both your perceptions as well as your partner's actions; your own experience of appreciation is influenced by your partner's showing of it, and vice versa. In this sense, 'Thank yous' matter, but not without thoughts, emotions and behaviors that corroborate them. Of course, the study links the dyadic experience of appreciation to long-term relationship satisfaction. What's equally (if not more) important, however, is its association with actually liking your partner. That's why generic 'thank yous' don't mean much on their own: it's hard to feel truly loved when their gratitude isn't substantial enough to make you feel liked. If your partner never specifies what exactly they're thanking you for, or if it always sounds the same, it will eventually start feeling hollow. Appreciation can only be perceived as genuine when it's tied to something concrete. Otherwise, it starts to come across as more of a polite reflex than something grounded in sincerity. If their words feel automatic — as though they're saying it out of habit, as opposed to saying it in response to a genuine revelation — you're not going to feel valued. You're going to feel overlooked. This is why a 'no' to this question is worth paying attention to. A lack of appreciation is just one of many indicators as to where you actually sit on your partner's list of priorities. If you're doing a majority of the emotional or logistical heavy lifting in your relationship, with little to no acknowledgment, it's fair to ask why you're staying. You don't need over-the-top praise. But if you're consistently allowing yourself to go under-recognized, you probably deserve more than you're getting. Many people might jump to 'big decisions' when considering this question. If your partner doesn't consult you before taking out a mortgage or quitting their job, a 'no' in this sense is an obvious and considerable red flag. It's a no-brainer that these kinds of decisions should be made collaboratively. Indeed, the 'big decisions' matter greatly to this end. However, these decisions are punctuated by hundreds of smaller ones each and every day. As 2013 research from Current Directions in Psychological Science explains, a relationship should be understood largely as a domain of judgment and decision-making. From start to end, decisions define and determine the trajectory and outcome of a relationship. Of course, most couples consider one another's opinions before getting married, buying a house or having a child. But those kinds of conversations tend to occur decades apart; they aren't the only choices that can be made in a relationship, nor are they the only ones that can affect you. Far more often, your partner is deciding what to do with their free time, how to spend their money or how they're going to treat you. Every day presents a choice of this kind: go out with friends or spend time with you, buy something for themselves or save up for something you both want, handle a chore or leave it for you to do. These may not be major milestones, but they do add up fast. Anyone can be collaborative when the stakes are high and the expectations are obvious. But everyday choices are a much truer measure of just how much you're factored into their thinking. You can't definitively answer this question with a 'yes' if your partner regularly acts in ways that benefit themselves, only to later acknowledge how it might have affected you. If they cancel plans, drop responsibilities or make impulse decisions without a second thought, that's a 'no.' Disregard like this cannot be chalked down to forgetfulness. You deserve to be with someone who sees your well-being as something worth factoring in. Not just when it's convenient, and not just when it directly concerns you either; it should be a basic part of how they operate both within and outside of the immediate relationship. If they consistently act like their decisions are made in a vacuum, then it's fair to ask whether they really see you as a life partner. This question requires significantly more introspection than the others, which is why it might be the most important of all. Of course, relationships generally go through various stages of evolution. If you've been together a long time, there's a good chance you're not the same two people you were when you started. But while life and relationships do indeed move through phases, some behaviors and habits tend to stick. While your finances, house, jobs and nuclear family might look larger or better than they did before, there's likely a few things that haven't changed much at all. The things your partner did (or didn't do) in the beginning may still be showing up now. That's not necessarily bad. After all, the traits that made you fall in love with them are probably the ones you want to stick around. Still, some habits carry more weight than others. One of the most important of these habits, according to renowned research from the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, is supportiveness. Unsurprisingly, it's strongly associated with long-term relationship satisfaction. However, the study notes that enacted support isn't the driver of this satisfaction, but rather the feeling of being supported. This distinction is paramount. A partner could technically do things that could count as 'support,' but their other half could still feel as though they're navigating life mostly alone. In this sense, what actually matters is whether you feel supported in ways that genuinely ease your physical and emotional load. This support only starts with your partner cheering you on from the sidelines; it shouldn't end there. This means they should also be putting in the same effort that you do in order to sustain both themselves and the relationship. If they don't — and if you knew for a fact that was never going to change — would you be okay with that? If your answer is 'no,' then you're likely carrying more than just your share alone. If you've asked for more and nothing's changed, or if you've stopped asking because it never made a difference, then it's fair to say you deserve better. At the very least, you deserve a partner who knows just as well as you do what it takes to keep a relationship going. Do you feel truly supported in your relationship? Take this science-backed test to find out: Perceived Responsiveness Scale
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Women Are Sharing The Small Things Men Have Done To Make Them Feel Appreciated, And It's Melting My Cold, Dead Heart
It's truly a different kind of heartwarming when someone does something that makes you feel loved, seen, and appreciated, especially if you're not used to that kind of affection. So when Reddit user u/Glittering-Hall695 asked the question, "Women of Reddit — what's something a guy did (big or small) that actually made you feel seen or appreciated?" In r/AskWomen, I knew the comments would be full of some very sweet stories: 1."He really listened to me and remembered things I'd said. He made me feel safe, wanted, and acknowledged." —u/HeartBeetz 2."He knows that 90% of the time, my day at work has been bad. So every day without fail, he has a change of clothes for me ready, sets up the bed for me to take the most heavenly nap, refills my water bottle for me in the way I like (I looove having a ton of ice in my water; he doesn't, but he does it for me), and asks me if there's anything else I need before I fall asleep." —u/ineedaweekoff 3."I have a guy friend (he's married), and we have the kind of friendship where we text pretty much every day. He always asks how I'm doing and how things are going in my life, and he remembers if I say I have a date or a project or an interview and always asks me how it went. No one else in my life does that. In fact, no one else in my life has ever done that for me. It's a huge deal to me, and it makes him an incredibly valuable friend. Being seen feels amazing." —u/StrangersWithAndi 4."He likes coffee; I like energy drinks. Yesterday morning, he realized he didn't have any energy drinks at his place, got dressed, went to the corner store, and grabbed two so I could choose. While I was still in bed." —u/Individualchaotin 5."So, my partner and I are long-distance. He's in England; I'm in Canada. We've been friends for 15 years, super close friends for the last five, and we officially got together last year. Back in 2021 we were chatting, and I told him I was having a really shitty day and I was feeling kind of lousy. About half an hour later, there was a knock at my door. He'd ordered me a chai from a local coffee house and had it delivered to my door." "He is across an ocean, and he was thoughtful enough to do something that seems so simple but brightened my day immensely and made me feel so loved. He has done multiple insanely thoughtful things since we've gotten together, but that is one that will forever stick out. He is such a gem of a human being." —u/Old-Pizza-3580 Related: 51 People Who Quickly Discovered Why Their Hilariously Clueless Partner Was Single Before Meeting Them 6."Without any prompting, my husband packed us a lunch for our drive to holiday this weekend. Not only did he make sure it was set within reaching distance in the car, but he also had a cold Diet Coke waiting for me in the cup holder. That, my friends, is true love. He does this stuff all the time; it's like he was written by a woman." —u/Effective-Mongoose57 7."He bought my son a car when his engine blew up. He took the time to research a good car, found and met a guy to buy it, took it to the shop for some repairs, and got it cleaned up before we drove it over five hours to my kid. Nobody has ever loved me like that." —u/Odd_Worth4034 8."I was the only person of a different ethnicity in the group when we went out for karaoke, and this one guy kept making sure I felt included by providing translations of the songs they were singing (it was very sweet, and also the translations were hilarious). I can be a little quiet, so it's heart-melting when people notice and try to make sure I'm having fun." —u/blessed_shash Related: 27 Horrifying Deaths People Can Never, Ever, Ever, Ever Forget Because They Were That Bad 9."I was outside of my job late at night after a shift. The area can get a bit rowdy after midnight, but I've never had issues. I was texting my boyfriend and had my head down. A guy my age stopped and asked if I was okay. I said yes and explained I'd just gotten off work. I thought he might have just wanted to start a conversation, but he just said, 'Okay, have a good night.'" "It was incredible! He was genuinely just making sure I was okay. He didn't expect anything; he was only concerned for me. I've had guys do this before, and it's usually as a way to start a chat, or ask me out, or ask me to go home with him, or some BS. It was amazing to have it be from genuine concern with no other motive. It honestly gave me hope for humanity, as silly as that sounds." —u/Waterlou25 10."He told me that my art was all he could think about. And it made me feel seen on a deep level." —u/dovesweetlove 11."A friend and I took a trip together overseas, and I said we had to stop at a local bookstore because I collect my favorite children's book in different languages in the countries I visit. It's been 10 years, and every time he travels somewhere internationally, he'll visit bookstores and try to find me a copy of the book in the local language." —u/yakshack 12."I had a good few relationships before my husband, as I'm a bit older than him. Never before with all the people closer to my age did I have them actually help me with house chores WITHOUT ME HAVING TO ASK. I was blown away and so touched. I felt like I actually found a partner in life, not just a boyfriend." —u/gilleykelsey 13."Every year on New Year's Eve, he would recount the year and tell me all the things he accomplished and how I helped him. Also how much he loved me. It was genuinely one of the most amazing things I've experienced." —u/Tall_Row_7288 14."He started the shower for me after I'd unexpectedly started my period at his place. He had the rag, towel, and some of his clothes in there before he came and told me the shower was ready. It was something small but incredibly thoughtful." —u/GrayAreaHeritage 15."We were on vacation, and it was pouring rain outside. To get home, we had to take a short boat ride. I'm absolutely terrified of being on water, so I'm sitting in this tiny boat, about to cry, and he's working overtime to get us ashore." "Before we got on the boat, he wrapped me in our last big plastic bag because I forgot my jacket — wow. When we got to our car, he told me to get in while he fixed everything, loaded up the car, and drove us home. On our way home he played one of my favorite albums." —u/Sad-Tangerine3560 16."Years ago, I went out with my two girlfriends and hit it off with a handsome guy. He was flirty, funny, witty, kind, and obviously interested. I was in a relationship, and when I told him that, he apologized for flirting and asked if it was okay if he'd just continue having a normal conversation with me because he enjoyed talking to me so much." "We did talk the entire night, had a blast, and both left without exchanging full names/numbers/social media. I sometimes think about him, although I no longer remember his name. But I felt so respected and valued by him." —u/lissocat And finally, here's a simple one that really warmed my heart: 17."The day after I told my coworkers I was getting a divorce, the 'quiet' guy in our group pulled me off to the side and said, 'Look, you are a smart, beautiful, strong woman, and you're going to be okay.' It meant a lot. And he was right." —u/sh6rty13 Do you have your own story about a time a man made you feel appreciated in the way you rightfully deserve? Let me know in the comments! Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in Internet Finds: 15 Facebook Marketplace Items You'll Wish, From The Depths Of Your Soul, You Could Unsee Also in Internet Finds: People Are Confessing Their Absolute Pettiest "Revenge Served Cold" Stories, And It's Deliciously Entertaining Also in Internet Finds: My Innocence Has Been Destroyed After Learning These Terrible, Disturbing, And Creepy Things
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 Small Cities in the South Where Homes Are Rapidly Gaining Value
A home is often considered a good investment because of its likelihood to appreciate in value over the years. Some areas see more radical upticks in value (and, with it, sales price) than others. Take La Crescenta-Montrose, a city in Los Angeles, with a livability score of 71 out of 100. The average home value in May 2025 was $1,351,730 — up 1.8% over the year prior. In just 365 days, the home appreciated by more than 24,000. Check Out: Read Next: Now, we tend to not see home values appreciate as rapidly in small Southern cities as we do in Los Angeles suburbs — but sometimes we do. In fact, sometimes we see far more substantial appreciation in just as short a window of time. GOBankingRates analyzed smaller towns to find the Southern cities where your home is on track to gain value. Home shoppers and real estate investors, it's time to put these baby metros on your real estate radar — and to keep your eye on Kentucky in general. Population: 1,977 2020 average home value: $94,407 2024 average home value: $147,178 2025 average home value: $163,573 Be Aware: Population: 3,536 2020 average home value: $89,185 2024 average home value: $131,897 2025 average home value: $149,031 Population: 3,820 2020 average home value: $92,424 2024 average home value: $136,325 2025 average home value: $154,251 Population: 2,218 2020 average home value: $92,090 2024 average home value: $139,493 2025 average home value: $156,925 Population: 1,998 2020 average home value: $52,117 2024 average home value: $66,327 2025 average home value: $78,249 Population: 3,211 2020 average home value: $92,480 2024 average home value: $150,522 2025 average home value: $168,140 Population: 2,628 2020 average home value: $133,782 2024 average home value: $235,868 2025 average home value: $259,071 Population: 2,672 2020 average home value: $66,190 2024 average home value: $112,995 2025 average home value: $127,071 Population: 1,948 2020 average home value: $78,370 2024 average home value: $123,222 2025 average home value: $141,848 Population: 1,488 2020 average home value: $67,385 2024 average home value: $109,772 2025 average home value: $125,579 Editor's note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed in this article. Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed smaller towns to find the cities where your home will gain value. Using the Zillow Home Value Index from February 2020, 2024 and 2025, the percentage change in home values was calculated. The cities with a larger increase than the national average were kept for this study. Using the U.S. Census American Community Survey, the total population can be sourced and cities with no more than 7,500 people were kept for this study. The 1-year and 5-year percent change in home values were calculated and were each scored with the highest score being the best. The cities were sorted to show the smaller cities where your home value will gain value. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 28, 2025. More From GOBankingRates What $1 Million in Retirement Savings Looks Like in Monthly Spending 6 Hybrid Vehicles To Stay Away From in Retirement 5 Little-Known Ways to Make Summer Travel More Affordable 8 Common Mistakes Retirees Make With Their Social Security Checks This article originally appeared on 10 Small Cities in the South Where Homes Are Rapidly Gaining Value Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
