Hi friends,

Happy Thanksgiving from your emotional support Canadian! I was all prepared to open this note to you with a rhapsodic ode to autumn but… it snowed. That’s right. We were blanketed with our first autumn snow - the one that comes to remind you who is really in charge around here and to never get too attached to any sort of weather and also God laughs at your plans. It will, of course, melt by later today but still: message was received. Winter is coming.

Still, in the spirit of the day, please allow me the moment of earnestness to tell you how grateful I am that you are here, helping to co-create one of the kindest comment sections on Al Gore’s Internet (do kids today even know that joke??), and reminding me that in a sea of noise a quiet little oasis like this can exist for all of us. It means the world to me that you trust me with your embattled inbox, your tender and resilient heart in this difficult age, and your precious time. I never take any of that for granted. It is always one of the great honours of my life to be alongside you in this small way every single week and I hope you know that I’m grateful.

It’s been a rather busy autumn here and a complicated one with a province-wide teacher’s strike currently underway (teachers, we are with you!) all while my own major work deadlines are converging at the exact same moment, lots of family commitments between the six of us, one kid in grade twelve with university applications underway, and so much more.

Plus, well, we got a dog. (Yes, we are nuts.)

But in good news, I have decided on my Halloween costume, so clearly my priorities are in the right place! (I haven’t been this excited about a Halloween costume since Brian and I dressed up as Sookie and Jackson from Gilmore Girls eight years ago.) Stay tuned! My fellow readers will like this one.

Let’s Talk About Allllll the Good Things Today

Since I’m still in my jammies with a huge mug of coffee beside me while Lucy sleeps on my feet, I figured this was a good week for us to chat about our mutual autumnal good things together, snow be darned.

For the uninitiated,