Provided your rut is leading you where you want to go, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing what you’ve always done. I’ll use the same toothpaste forever, and the same purse. Methodical “Play Nice” will be the coffee of my choice until they stop making it. You already know me and Tandem, and me and GB&D.

The other night, I experienced the leisurely cooking of a meal as I talked to TJ after his arrival home from work. The kids were off playing alone or with one another. I was less interested in their exact locations than in the fact that somehow, I had made it to this point. I could cook and think and talk, alone or with this man, and our responsibilities for children were momentarily called off.