Yeah, it makes sense to mention Thanksgiving, but the article probably should have been titled something about Thanksgiving since it was way more about that than about fall as a season. I always loved fall because it’s a break from a hot and sticky summer (July-August is really unpleasant in New England, too). The…

Ha, well November is certainly winter in marketing, even in places where it’s not wintery weather. Gotta encourage the winter holiday shopping. Malls decked out in pine trees and snow. I remember going into a coffee shop during the first week of November expecting to see pumpkin spice everything. Nope, they were all…

I’m not a parent or very wise about these situations, but as someone with strong memories of how my teenage/young adult self felt about sharing things (big/small, good/bad—anything) with my parents, I think how you responded sounds great. Responding in text initially makes sense because she sent a text, so that may…

The hospital probably has hand sanitizer every 10 steps, so make good use of that, distance as much as possible in hallways, elevators, etc. As you say, trust the science. And I’m sending my best thoughts your way.

Random observation: If you kind of squint at that top photo and turn off the part of your brain that knows about 3D and perspective, it looks like she has really short arms.

That’s really cool! I bet that would be really fascinating, to see a bit of a nature vs. nurture experiment in front of you. I hope that your relationship continues to develop nicely.

This was my husband’s scare: A year and a half ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I went on an awesome trip to a bunch of national parks in the southwest with my dad and brothers. On our visit to Mesa Verde, we set up our tents at the campground up there, where there are signs all around warning about bears. Don’t…

Yeah, what happened to “I like people who weren’t captured sick”?

We did this as kids! Around maybe...1995? we figured out how to play cassette tapes on our kiddie tape player, record it on the family computer, and play it back either slowed down or sped up. The two things I remember doing were

Yeah, I think he kind of gave himself away by calling the people who are being extra cautious in assuming they don’t have immunity “lemmings.” Unless he’s assuming that everyone knows that the story of lemmings committing mass suicide is a myth and therefore is using “lemmings” as shorthand for “overly cautious…

I know what you mean, the added cancer aspect of it all. Complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, like my dad. I was so worried this summer, with various reports of treatment she was receiving...lesions on her liver, I think I read she had a stent put in. It’s like what my dad was going through last summer.…

I’m so sorry. C. diff is awful. I hope he recovers soon.

I’m so sorry. What a precious sweetheart. She knew she was loved.

I live somewhere where they’ve recently been making updates to the COVID rules multiple times a week. Sometimes I don’t know changes have been made, and different businesses have different rules, so I don’t always know every rule. I was thinking I might call my dentist to see if they’re open and what safety measures…

I say it must be toasted to realize its true gooey potential and really bring out the graham cracker flavor of the pastry. But you are correct that it’s the best Pop Tart.

There was a style of Dansko shoes (not clogs, but more rugged slip-ons) that I really liked, but I was completely between sizes. One size squished my toes, the next size fell off my foot. I don’t know why there would be such a dramatic difference between the two. Oh well.

I thought it was going to be cake :(

I graduated <15 years ago, and I’ve been to my college’s reunions 7 times: 4 times as a student, and 3 times as an actual alum. Unfortunately, I don’t have any stories to share because nothing ridiculous happened at any of them.

I still think a lot about the things I’ve wanted to tell my dad, or share with him. I made these doughnuts that I know he would have thought were amazing, and I picture how he would have reacted to trying them.