November 4, 2026- Hana likes to brush her own teeth. She also insists on holding the round container of brushes, with a picture of a baby on it, while taking her evening bottle. I don’t see any harm in it, so I play along. I do make sure to give her teeth a once over, after she has “finished” her own brushing.

Her mother is away for three days, as part of her work. Hana seems to understand at some level and isn’t showing anxiety, the way she did when Yunhee was working 45 minutes away. If anything, my granddaughter is showing more signs of independence, playing by herself more happily in the playpen, or in her upstairs room. Of course, I am right there in the same room.

HANA’S NOTE- Papa helped Daddy and me with my bath and putting on my pajamas tonight. Then, he went to a meeting somewhere. He was carrying a black bag.*

• I went to Baha’i Feast, where I presented the news from the Local Spiritual Assembly, so I brought my laptop with me, and read off it.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Connecticut- The Nutmeg State has seen me about 25 times, since my parents took us down there in 1958, to see some paternal relatives in Stamford. Each road trip, either from Virginia or from Arizona, has involved either I-95 or I-84, through Hartford. South Windsor, Danbury and Killingworth have been overnight stops, as has the capital. Connecticut is by turns bustling and serene.

The Turf- Northwest Connecticut contains part of the Appalachian Mountains, known as the Taconic Range. The Connecticut Valley Lowland lies in the center of the state. The Coastal Lowlands run along the southern shore of Connecticut, which borders Long Island Sound. The Eastern New England Uplands cover the eastern part of Connecticut. The state is drained by the Connecticut, Yantic, Niantic, Scantic, Thames and Farmington Rivers, as well their tributaries.

First Nations- Connecticut is the ancestral home of a large number of Indigenous Peoples: The Wiechquaesgeck, Pequannocks, Paugusett, Pootatuck, Schaghticoke, Mohican, Tunxis, Quinnipiac, Hammonassett, West Niantic, Wangunk, Agawam, Podunk, Nipmuc, and Mohegan-Pequot peoples. These tribes suffered dramatic losses, through disease and warfare, caused by the pressures of European colonization. Several of the tribes merged or took in survivors of intertribal conflict or war with the English. Today, the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegans are the last remaining Federally-recognized tribes in Connecticut. Both are in southeast Connecticut.

Where I most feel at home- Danbury, Killingworth, Newtown, Bethel

Where I most feel at peace- Killingworth, Bethel

NEXT: Rhode Island