Earlier this summer we got some milkweed plants and placed them outside our bedroom window. Before your eyes glaze over with boredom, stay with me. We bought these plants to attract butterflies. And who doesn’t want more butterfly sightings? Sure enough, a butterfly laid her eggs on a milkweed plant and produced—by our count—nine caterpillars. Hungry ones, at that. A few weeks later, a tiny chrysalis hung from a nearby leaf. Then others appeared. Was it happening? Would we be able to observe...

Have you ever had karma work in your favor? In such a weird and glorious way that you can’t shut up about it? Just me? OK, well, here’s a story for you. My frister (friend+sister) Megan and I had been eyeing the Eras Tour passively, but longingly. She’d been a Swiftie for years and at some point began a campaign to convert me. As an aside, Taylor Swift is a poet in her own right. Some have compared her lyrics to Shakespeare, and as a Shakespeare aficionado myself, I’ll say that the sentiment...

Bonus points if you can guess the song without googling the lyrics. I get it. My writing has been lagging lately. My posts have been bleak. The honest truth is that the doom & gloom essays are the ones I’m most hesitant to post. They’re the least fun to write. Trouble is, the state of the world is all-consuming. Every time I take my eyes off it, I'm ambushed. By this logic, if I stay locked in, I won't be surprised. I'll admit, I often fall prey to the overwhelm of the daily news cycle....