For anyone who has had to downsize, Debi Goodwin braids history with hope as a prelude to letting go in this stunning essay.

What I need is a jolt of Thelma and Louise. I want them back, their skin creased from all that sun, their arms a little saggy.

Could noticing grackles make you happier? Debi Goodwin says yes. Each evening in the late winter, in the hour before darkness, the...