I remember really liking Guernsey when I read it (years ago). Schaffer died before finishing, so Burrows (family member, I think) took over & got it published (she’s mostly a children’s book author) which may be why the ending didn’t live up to the previous parts?

Dental work sucks. I had a multi-step many week issue this summer and ugh. the worst.

@Catherine – you could have kept our kid average up! We talked about the importance of simply taking (or asking for) accommodations. Just because no one has done something before (like work from home while being pretty high up in the Federal Reserve, to take one example) doesn’t mean it can’t happen. We talked about the metaphor of glass balls vs. bouncing balls. Don’t drop what you’ve identified as important, but other stuff can go. We talked about how many people operate from an assumption that paid childcare is “bad” and must be minimized, but that can lead to problems, so best to think in terms of managing a team at work, and managing a team at home. Pay well (in both cases!) to get good people. We talked about how the little years are very hard (especially if you’re a first time mom) but it does get easier and you develop skills along the way. So a lot of the usual stuff, but I thought it was a very well managed panel.

@SHU – I’ve encountered dogs off leash on park trails and that’s always a tense moment for me. I mean, dogs like to chase things that run, and while the owner usually catches up some amount of time later to report how friendly the dog is, I don’t know that upon encountering a strange, unleashed dog in the woods.

And the cars…I don’t know why people drive as crazy as they do in a residential neighborhood. Slow down, people!