I’ll be discussing a myriad of topics here. Before we begin, I thought I’d start by expressing my gratitude to my wonderful cousins.  We gather from various towns at least once a year for decades now, and often four generations at a time, averaging somewhere around twenty people.

From the beginning, without any discussion, we all intuitively chose to never discuss politics with each other. If I had to guess, looking around the room, I’d say that about half of us are Democrats, and half Republicans. But I can never be sure, because no one has ever clarified this out loud.

That’s probably why we all like each other so much. Every person in the room is an excellent human being: ethical, intelligent, kind, interesting, and hilarious.

I want to be clear:  I have always believed that to be a good American, we have to pay attention to what happens in our country and what our elected officials do. To be patriotic means to pay attention, hold them and ourselves accountable, and vote.

However . . .

In order to stay sane and spiritually balanced, we must slow down and appreciate the good things in life that have nothing to do with politics.

As we all know, the current political fray has been exhausting for everyone with no end in sight. I think this is why, at the Thanksgiving that shortly followed the 2016 election, for the first time, my cousin who was hosting that year felt it necessary for our unspoken rule to be publicly stated. Above is the note she posted at the front door.

I’d like to repeat the sentiment for this website. You are invited to comment at any time, as long as you remain—like my cousins—ethical, intelligent, kind, interesting, and hilarious. Or at least good-humored.

Otherwise, you’ll be sent into the kitchen to do a LOT of dishes.