I keep thinking I’m going to run out of stuff to talk to you about. But the cool thing is that I keep learning and growing. I’m not just having new ideas about stuff to write — I’m having new ideas in general, triggered by the events and circumstances of my life.

And one fresh idea is something I’m calling the threshold effect. This concept has been coming up lately as I talk to parents about how to help their kids pursue passionate interests, making the most of the abundant free time that so many of them have during this phase of the pandemic.

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In the third season of AMC’s Mad Men, ad exec and perpetual little boy Pete Campbell whines to his wife after an insufficient promotion, “Why can’t I get anything good all at once?”

It’s an attitude I can relate to…and probably many other people throughout history, considering we have proverbs like “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” and other colloquial exhortations to be grateful. Still, sometimes we want what we want, when we want it. What then?

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The art that people have made in quarantine is incredible.

Musicians are collaborating on complex multi-track recordings from afar — and sharing impromptu live concerts from their living rooms.

People are drawing and painting like crazy, setting up elaborate obstacle courses for their pets, and dancing up a storm.

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I’m spending spring in Maine for the first time in many years. I’m looking forward to blooming lilacs and chestnut trees, which are still several weeks away. Meanwhile, the the first sign of spring arrived a few weeks ago along with the melting snow: the peepers.

From late March or early April, you can hear the high-pitched singing of this tiny frog rising from ponds and marshes all over New England. Even when the air is chilly and the trees still look like a bunch of sad sticks, the peepers signal that warmth and green will eventually return. The commencement of the peeper orchestra was especially comforting this year — at least some things are still happening as scheduled.

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Like many people, I’ve gotten progressively more boring as I’ve gotten older.

I don’t go out as much. I work a lot. And most egregiously, when I’m driving or out for a walk, I’m more likely to listen to a podcast than music.

My fifteen-year-old self, to whom music was a fundamental reason for living, would have a hard time understanding.

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Asking for help is one of the hardest things we have to do to overcome a culture of being afraid to look dumb. It is an act of courage and a move toward growth.

Often, the starting point is simply, “I don’t get it” or “I’m stuck.” And because I understand the strength it takes for most of us to reach out and ask for support, I will always engage with these implicit questions as best I can when it is asked of me.

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