Dear Family, I don’t know whether to feel amused or horrified by the fact that my simply typing the letters m and o in succession into Google Chrome is enough for the browser to (correctly) guess that I’m trying to get to “montgomerycountymd.gov/safespeedpay,” the website where I pay citations issued by our county’s robot army…

Dear Family, Firstly, I’d like to try to convey how much I love the month of April. Every time it comes around, I’m just a little happier. Maybe it’s the perfect weather, the important events, or the feeling of impending final exams (meaning impending freedom from obligation to study); I’m not sure what it is…

Dear Family, I like almost everything about our neighborhood, but I’m grateful not to live under the tyranny of a homeowners association. We have an active neighborhood civic association, which I admire, even though I seldom attend the meetings. I believe I currently belong to the association, though I’m never certain. My membership frequently lapses…

Dear Family,  Listen, I warned you in September’s letter that updates would be sporadic, so I shall stubbornly plead not guilty of all charges, on the grounds that there was an exculpatory clause included in our contract. Even though I’m fairly certain that the word “plead” is not used in breach-of-contract lawsuits. Or “charges,” for…

Dear Family, And look at that, it’s April. Some of you may have noticed that I did not publish a letter in February. Whoops. I hope that you can forgive me. I promise nothing all that exciting happened, but several February events and random thoughts will appear in this letter, so never fear. For examples,…

Dear Family, I’m appreciative of you who have inquired and expressed concern about Crystal’s ailing back. (I’m also appreciative of you who haven’t. If you don’t know what I’m talking about and would like to, feel free to read last month’s letter.) Physical therapy and pain meds are helping, but she’s still in frequent pain…

Dear Family, Sophie alleges in her most recent letter that our family is “not all that interesting.” She writes: “We do the [Sunday] crossword together every week, we send our daily Wordle attempts (and little else) into the family group chat, and we occasionally like to muse on the exciting potential of last names better…

Dear Family, I feel that I need to begin this letter by responding to my dad’s. At the end of his last letter, he mentioned that I started dating a boy named Luke Wo. this month and that he is from Maryland. I wasn’t sure whether I would talk about my dating life beyond jokes…

Dear Family, I suppose I’m not in a position to claim that Peter Cannon Willis’s missionary farewell address was the finest one ever given. But it was quite possibly the best I’ve ever heard. And I’ve listened to some pretty great ones, including two by daughters of mine that were considerably better than most. (Admittedly,…

Dear Family, The month of December snuck up on me, and then finals week quickly snuck in with it. December is such a mixed basket for college students. There are ample opportunities for free food because the campus and various organizations are in a festive mood and professors are sympathetic and extra supportive because they…