Month: May 2026

  • Whatever Comes After

    Whatever Comes After

    I sat at a table in the gym at my son’s school. At the other tables, there were a dog groomer, a police detective, someone from the state park maintenance crew, an archaeologist, and other community members. We were there for career day.

    My topic was AI.

    (more…)
  • What Could Have Been

    What Could Have Been

    I was listening to a podcast recently about a woman in her seventies, semi-retired, describing a life built around boards and civic connections and a career that had opened into something expansive in its later years. She sounded settled in a way that felt earned, like she had arrived somewhere she had been moving toward for a long time.

    (more…)
  • Not His Thing

    Not His Thing

    I read about a hundred books a year. Most of them are audiobooks, which I get for free through the local library. It’s one of those habits that has been with me since I was young, the library as a place, the books as company. My goddaughter is also a reader, and a few months ago we got her a library card. Usually she reserves books online and I pick them up on my way back from school drop-off. But occasionally we’ll go together to browse.

    (more…)
  • Nothing, Again

    Nothing, Again

    A few years ago, we did genetic testing for the first time. An exome sequencing — not the full genome, but a significant portion of it. They found a variation in the PRICKLE1 gene, which is associated with epilepsy. It looked like it might be something.

    It wasn’t.

    (more…)