Hey everybody, it's Meredith, and welcome to Love Letters. I'm excited to tell you that we are doing a lot of recording of news stories.

They are, I think, some of the most interesting ones we've ever told. But during this break, I wanted to give you some reruns, because we're lucky enough to have a catalog of stories that date back to 2018.

Sometimes I get updates from the people in those stories,

and I want to share them. And other times it's just that an older episode has stayed on my mind

for reasons. I want to start with an episode like that today, one that's close to my heart.

A few months ago, I was writing a lot about the five-year anniversary of lockdown,

and where we are in our

relationships five years after the start of COVID. It made me think about those first days of the

podcast when we realized, okay, we're not going back to the office just yet. A colleague of mine dropped

off our podcast equipment. He basically threw it on my lawn, and I learned to set it up in my

basement. One of the first stories I wanted to tell in this new scary moment in life was,

how does one survive lockdown with a partner who is absolutely going to annoy them? A lot.

I lived alone during lockdown, and I was fine. I was frightened about the pandemic, but I was okay by myself. Meanwhile, my coupled friends were staring at each other all day, some of them in very small apartments, and I wanted to help them. I found expert advice back then, from a couple who'd grown used to spending most of the year, not just alone, but like all caps alone.

No outdoor picnics with friends, no constant zooms to catch up.

This couple had long lived in the middle of nowhere, and they had lots to say about it.

I wanted to reshare this one with you because I think about it a lot.

This episode came out five years and one month ago. As we listen, I think it's a nice moment to think about the

pleasures of being able to reunite with others when we can, and the gift of having good

company that doesn't get sick of you. Thanks for not getting sick of me. Let's listen.

Kim Scriber was 18 and living in Salt Lake City

when she and her friends decided to throw a party.

We were just making a big old punch in this big old trash barrel, and we decided

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