I’ve told this story before, but now it has another chapter.

A long time ago, I decided to purchase the 35th anniversary copy of The Phantom Tollbooth, even though I owned many other copies of the book. But this copy stated that the author lived in my town. I grabbed the white pages (because back then, children, we had to look up addresses and telephone numbers in huge books… if you can believe that) and discovered that he lived 4 BLOCKS AWAY.

I called him at home around 9 pm, and he answered the phone. Rather than berating me for calling so late, he informed me that I wasn’t the first person to call him like this. I told him that it would mean the world to me if I could take him out for coffee.

And with all of the kindness of Tock, Mr. Juster invited me over to his house for tea. After work, I dressed up in a red checkered dress and tied my hair into two braids. I walked the four blocks between our houses and almost chickened out on the front lawn. I am so glad that I took a deep breath and knocked because it turned out to be one of the greatest afternoons of my life. There is nothing quite like getting to have tea with your idol on his porch.

Our lives crossed many times, and when he died, I posted the last picture that we took together. It was at a dinner party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book. I feel very lucky that I got to see my idol so many times, and the kids got to meet him, too.

But I realized years ago that I had never been back to the house. I couldn’t even remember where it was located. Luckily, the town put up a plaque, and I was able to drive by when I was in the area and see the screened-in porch where we had tea. Everyone waited for me in the car while I walked around the outside of the house, remembering how I felt standing that first time on the front lawn. I was so young. I was so excited. I couldn’t help it; I started crying thinking of that version of me, who is still somewhere inside of me.

I got back in the car, drying my face. It’s a good reminder to go back to a place sometimes.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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Oldster ran a pre-obit a few weeks ago, written by a husband for his wife. He wanted her to be able to see what would be said about her before she died. This part made me cry: “I think now of that mountain and I think of your smile, and the joy of our weird, dirty honeymoon comes back to me. I will always be happy walking with you wherever we go, however high the mountains get.”

I really love the idea of a pre-obit, much more than actual obits. Or the pre-funeral in The Fault in Our Stars rather than an actual funeral. When possible, people should know how you feel.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

A few weeks ago, I tagged along with Josh when we went on a work trip and visited with Justine. We got falafel and walked around her workplace and hung out at her house. It was fantastic, but when I got home, I texted her that I realized we hadn’t taken a picture.

Photos or it didn’t happen?

We realized that we’d both be on the same road around the same time the next week. We shared our locations on Find My Friend and left it to chance. If it worked out, we’d both pull off the road and give each other a hug.

When we started driving, she was already 14 miles north, but we were farther east, so within the first hour, we ended up 2 miles ahead of her. I remembered a Trader Joe’s we once used when the kids were little for an impromptu picnic on the road, and told her to pull off at the exit.

We met up in the parking lot. Josh watched us jump up and down in excitement at our cleverness (come on, that was a lot of luck to make that happen) and we got coffee and got back on the road.

But we took a picture this time of our shit-eating grins.

We just got back from visiting the kids, so I’m in that downward emotional slump that comes after a good trip. I keep reminding myself that it only hurts this much because we enjoyed ourselves this much. That this is the inverse — the price we pay for laughing that much and hugging that much.

We went up three mountains, got apples at a farm stand, visited a town I always wanted to see and never made time to do, explored a free Barbie exhibit, hiked to a brook that looked more like a river due to the rain, browsed books, ate ice cream three times, watched Taskmaster, and took hundreds of photos.

And then the long drive home, pick up the guinea pig, and unpack. Big sigh.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

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But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

All & Sundry talks about the dissolution of a marriage. It is a weird term to use with a marriage because all of the artifacts and memories of the marriage remain; they don’t disappear into the ether. She has found a lot of peace in the afterward, and she writes: “There is nothing left but acceptance, and the love that helps build anew.” Amen to that.

Finding a Different Path had an anniversary surprise trip, which sounds and looks idyllic (with the exception of the grandparenting war). Click over for beautiful autumnal photos.

Jewish IVF is on her final embryo. She writes: “Whether it sticks or not, this transfer will mark the end of an era for us.” She is in a place of peace, hopeful but accepting of whatever comes.

Lastly, I echo Scientist on the Roof in wanting a break from adulting. Everything here sounds good: “I would like to eat snacks, read something for fun, and take naps. I would really like someone else to take care of meals and all kid-related activities. I would like the house to be magically tidy and organized (and pretty, too) without any effort from me.” I don’t think it’s too much to ask at all.

The roundup to the Roundup: The greater the trip, the harder the landing. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between October 10 – 17) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from September.

Could Should Might Don’t: How We Think About the Future (Nick Foster): I read this because I wanted to become more comfortable with thoughts about the future, and the book ultimately achieves that, giving you ways of seeing though messaging and balancing your thoughts. I admittedly skimmed sometimes, but would highly recommend to anyone who thinks a lot about the future. I’ve been talking about it a lot the past month.

The Subtle Knife (Philip Pullman): Part of my re-read of His Dark Materials before the release of the final book at the end of October. No matter how many times I read it, it is just as beautiful and thought-provoking as the first time. I love being with Lyra and Will.

Displeasure Island (Alice Bell): Solid follow-up to last year’s Grave Expectations. The characters are still great. It was a light-hearted read during a time when I needed a light-hearted read.

The Killer Question (Janice Hallett): Janice Hallett is a treasure. Every book is brilliant. Even if you guess something, I guarantee that you will not guess everything. She has trick after trick after trick, and makes you laugh over and over again. Thank you for such an enjoyable experience.

The Wasp Trap (Mark Edwards): I’m so happy that I finally got to read a Mark Edwards book – they are hard to get in the U.S. – and it was a solid thriller. Good characters, great pacing, interesting situation. Well done.

The Amber Spyglass (Philip Pullman): As much as I’m disappointed that the ending doesn’t change with the re-read, it is the only ending that makes sense. It breaks your heart. But life does. Luckily, I still have two novellas and a novel left in my re-read of His Dark Materials before the final book is released.

What did you read last month?