Good morning. There are so many good reasons to return to activities that gave us joy when we were younger. |
 | | María Jesús Contreras |
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Last week I wrote about my delight over skiing for the first time in 20 years. Many readers then told me about the long-dormant skills and forsaken hobbies that they've rediscovered. I was struck by the confidence that comes from returning to horseback riding or ice skating or skateboarding again as an adult. Older and wiser, readers were able to dispense with their youthful hangups, to find meaning in what were once just extracurricular activities. Here are some of their stories that have stayed with me: |
Kurt Neubert of San Mateo, Calif., is a Juilliard-trained former musician. He recently picked up the violin after a 28-year break. "Slowly, I started playing excerpts from pieces I used to enjoy but quickly realized that while the neuromuscular memory was there, my left hand had lost most of the agility from its former life. I decided not to give up but to embrace it as a beginner again!" he wrote, adding, "This experience has been a metaphor for this chapter of my life — to let go, step aside and let it unfold organically." |
When the daughters of Eric Ahern of Somerville, Mass., play in the park, he's rediscovering skateboarding. "I'd rather while away some time skating and doing basic tricks than sitting on a bench," he wrote. "I get plenty of weird looks from the other parents, but I own it. Skateboarding is a sport for misfits, and I still feel like an outsider at 45, so I embrace it." |
Morgan McEwen of Kennebunkport, Maine, took a 12-year hiatus from snowboarding. Now she's back at it at 42. "I think it helps to have an outdoor hobby to make winter something other than a season you just try to get through," she wrote. |
Megan Brenenstuhl from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has returned to tennis. "It is both humbling (realizing the changes in my body over the 20 years) and exhilarating (so much has come back to me)," she wrote. "If there was something you once loved doing, give it a shot because the 20-years-ago you is still in there and it's fun to find them!" |
Kay Meyer of Wausau, Wis., took up the clarinet again after close to 30 years, at age 50, and is glad she did. "First, for the relationships it created with other musicians just playing for the love of music and the fun of it," she wrote. "But also for the sense of accomplishment it gave me. I was able to play some of my favorite songs at a time in my life when I could appreciate the experience so much more than when it was just the next high school concert for parents." |
Timothy Targett of Portsmouth, N.H., has returned to fly fishing in his early 70s, after 50 years off. "The rhythm and satisfaction of casting a fly to a waiting trout actually came back quickly," he wrote. "The pleasure of spending time in beautiful surroundings, catching some spectacular fish, and socializing with friends is very Zen for me!" |
Coleen Barger of Maumelle, Ark., taught French in the 1970s and early '80s, but then went to law school and "somehow, the French language got locked behind some cerebral walls." She's been using the Duolingo app to reacquaint herself with the language. "It felt a little silly at first, the lessons being so elementary, but as I progressed, voilà!" she wrote, adding, "It feels like I took a wrench to a rusted, dripping faucet, and now the water is running freely again." |
Jessica Black of St. Louis gave up figure skating as a child because of the expense of hiring a coach. She recently restarted lessons at 33. "Returning to something, as a beginner, that I was so good at as a child has been liberating," she wrote. "I feel joy and pride that as an adult, I'm able to give myself something my younger self wanted so desperately. It's a bit like going back in time and giving myself a hug." |
Laura Street of New Haven, Conn., is rediscovering classical piano. "I'm 25, in a quarter-life crisis, finding solace from my corporate job by retracing the contours of old Chopin pieces, learning new Rachmaninoff preludes, inventing and reinventing new practice drills to strengthen my left hand," she wrote. "In an alternate universe, this is my career. I wonder if this universe could be mine." |
 | | Michael B. Jordan in "Creed III."Ser Baffo/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures |
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 | | President Biden, right, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany yesterday.Kenny Holston/The New York Times |
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- President Biden met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and said they would work in "lock step" to provide military support to Ukraine.
- The Russian military has made gains in Bakhmut, a focal point in the war, putting Ukrainian forces' hold on the city in a precarious position.
- Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest last month.
- Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer, was sentenced to life in prison in the murders of his wife and son.
- Snow in Southern California has trapped people for days.
- Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois could be the SOS candidate for Democrats worried that Biden will ultimately decline to run for re-election.
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📺 "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage" (Tonight): Netflix is trying something new with this standup special, airing it live at 10 p.m. Eastern. (Live? On Netflix!?) This will be Rock's first special since 2018's "Tamborine," also for Netflix. Is it a coincidence that this will air one week before the first Oscars ceremony to take place since Will Smith slapped Rock on live TV? Who can say? |
🍿 "Scream VI" (Friday): The 1989 slasher film "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan" established a conceit that has been genuinely under-leveraged: Horror movie character visits the Big Apple. Here, the Munch-masked Ghostface follows Melissa Barrera ("In the Heights") and Jenna Ortega (the titular Wednesday in Netflix's "Wednesday") to New York City. I'm hoping this breaks the dam: Let M3gan take Manhattan. Let Annabelle. That really tall guy from "It Follows." The Babadook. |
 | | Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson. |
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Lemon Spice Visiting Cake |
When Dorie Greenspan created her lemon loaf cake spiked with cardamom and ginger, she called it a "visiting cake" — something easy to take to a friend's house, or to keep on hand for when visitors stop by. But this tender cake is just as delightful when you're not feeling social. It's simple to whip up without a mixer, and, thanks to its shiny marmalade glaze, will stay fresh for days. If it does start to get a little stale, fear not. Dorie advises putting a few slices in the toaster, so the heat can singe the edges, revive the texture and intensify the citrus and spice flavors. I'd serve it with lemon-ginger tea, but coffee, milk or a glass of dessert wine would work just as well. |
A selection of New York Times recipes is available to all readers. Please consider a Cooking subscription for full access. |
 | | Stephen Kent Johnson/OTTO |
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Tight quarters: See inside a 450-square-foot apartment. |
What you get for $700,000: A farmhouse in East Chatham, N.Y.; a Southwestern-style home in La Quinta, Calif.; or a combined pair of 1840 rowhouses in Baltimore. |
The hunt: A couple wanted a two-bedroom in Queens with a kitchen big enough for making pizza. Which home did they pick? Play our game. |
 | | Chelsie Craig for The New York Times |
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If you're perpetually cold or shopping for someone who is (like my mother, who has occasionally set her thermostat to 80 degrees), Wirecutter has you covered. We've tested cozy textiles over the better part of a decade, like L.L. Bean's flannel sheets (the softest and toastiest pick in every year of testing since 2016) or Garnet Hill's Plush Loft Throw. For wearable warmth around the house, try a great robe. We spent more than 100 hours researching robes and wearing 39 of them, eventually picking nine we love for softness, style, comfort and practicality. — Jackie Reeve |
 | | The Rangers right wing Patrick Kane.John Minchillo/Associated Press |
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New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins, N.H.L.: The Rangers, who came close to the Stanley Cup finals last season, traded this week for the Blackhawks star and three-time champion Patrick Kane. Kane, 34, is a future Hall of Famer, though age and injuries have slowed his production. Still, as The Athletic notes, elite offensive talent will surround Kane in New York, which could help him thrive. Today's game will be a good test: Boston has the most points in the N.H.L. right now and is on a nine-game winning streak. 1 p.m. Eastern today on ABC. |
The pangrams from yesterday's Spelling Bee were inactivate, inactive and vaccinate. Here is today's puzzle. |
Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines. |
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa |
Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com. |
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