Between the upcoming election, RBG’s passing, and a mounting third wave of coronavirus, the past month weighed heavily on us. At work, anxiety surrounding centralized funds flow, lab space allocation, and lab personnel departures converged with my second R01 score, grant/paper rejections, and multiple deadlines, even as I was busy reviewing grants for NIH study section. Melody’s unusually busy call also hinted at her darkening white cloud, as she continued to combat insomnia with melatonin and blue light-blocking glasses. A couple of weeks ago, we fired up our grill for some lemongrass pork shoulder, only to face a sudden flare up and grease fire that necessitated a frantic discharge from our extinguisher and an exhausting afternoon of clean up. The ensuing fumes was a good test of our new air quality monitor, but not for our dishwasher, which suffered a recirculation pump failure that same day. Fortunately, Westley helped us maintain a routine on weekends, with Saturday bike trips to the nearby playground to hang out with local kids, and Sunday visits to SwimAmerica for family swim and play. We also continued our home improvement projects with a new coat of paint for the garage, slatwall panels, and a mango wood sideboard that we bee-waxed for our back patio. Last weekend, the cooler weather finally gave us a chance to enjoy our new digs in the backyard over a Billie Eilish livestream concert. With Melody on her Kindle, Westley on his tablet, and me on my laptop, it was a moment that felt right, even when everything else was going wrong. Today, we got Dollar Tree supplies to dress Westley up as Shy Guy, as we plan to spend Halloween and Election Day on the Sonoma Coast to escape these scary times.