Dear readers,

This past weekend I cooked a full dinner for my roommates for the first time. It was a continuation of our new Sunday night tradition—the eight of us squeezed around a much too small, scratched up dining room table inherited from the tenants before us. We had looked forward to days like this for years; when we could trade our takeout boxes and plastic forks for mismatched ceramic plates and silverware. I cooked dishes that I had no qualification to make, scrambling to piece together family recipes that I had never watched my parents make closely enough. Hours later, we had produced a meal not perfect, but beautiful nonetheless, that made me long for dinners at home.

This week in Lifestyle, our writers too reflect on rituals. Our managing editors come together to write a collection of stories on fall traditions, while Zoe gives a rundown on her apple-driven road trip through New England. Nina also meditates on nature, writing about a place in rural New Mexico and the wildfire that consumed it. Pooja talks about finding friendship during her admission to a hospital for mental health concerns. In A&C, Eliot discusses Janelle Monae's afrofuturistic discography, while Isa reflects on her first love through Clairo’s “Bags.” In post-pourri, our writer unpacks the science behind typos. Finally, in Feature, our writer reflects on being an extrovert, and how that changed when she went abroad to Copenhagen. To top it off, our crossword lights up this issue, just in time for daylight savings. 

This weekend was a foretelling of many Sundays to come. Family Dinner, as we call it, is a chance for us to sit together, and even if just for a moment, separate ourselves from the whirlwind of our lives. As the weather begins to cool, and I search for an extra bit of comfort, I am reminded of how much I have to be grateful for, and how thankful I am to have people to share parts of home with. I hope you find the same notes of home in this week’s issue of post-. 

Cooking for my family,
Tabitha Lynn
Lifestyle Managing Editor