Hi everybody,

I hope you are all safe and well, and above water. My family and I were down the shore in New Jersey when Ida hit, and while there was a downpour and we were thoroughly sandblasted, compared to what was happening back home in Philly and elsewhere across the south and northeast, the little beach town was curiously spared. While our phones flashed with news from friends of tornado sightings and flooded basements, and the city shot out periodic “SEEK SHELTER” texts, an hour away we sat on the porch and did a puzzle. The disconnect was eerie. A lot of the news of the world feels this way lately—both very urgent and just out of reach. In most ways, I know this means I am lucky.

Anyway, we returned home to find our house a little damp in the corners but still standing, and also, somehow, it was already September? Now, here I am, writing to you a little late, a little more freckled, having slept in ‘til 8AM for the first time in more than two years, and trying to play catch up.