The Optimist: I spend my day working in the hospital. Then I come home and bake.

John Krasinski, David Ortiz surprise Boston medical workers with lifetime Red Sox tickets; For seniors, a silver lining: 'The FaceTime is really quite unbelievable to me'; A man spent $82,000 on gift cards and sent them to every home in an Iowa town; An unlikely bright spot in a pandemic: A tiny picnic table for squirrels is a hit; A West Virginia church spends Easter making masks, other PPE using 3-D printers; He's stuck at home for his 12th birthday. Thousands of strangers helped his dad with a surprise.; Pushing against gender roles, now that we're all home together; How to show 'lovingkindness' despite social distancing; Coronavirus is putting stress on some romantic relationships. Here are 6 ways to manage it. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories that inspire.     (Danielle Evans for The Post) I spend my day working in the hospital. Then I come home and bake. A former finalist on "The Great British Bake Off," Tamal Ray now works as an anesthesiologist. Baking, he writes, is a unique comfort in times of crisis. Opinion ●  By Tamal Ray ●  Read more »   John Krasinski, David Ortiz surprise Boston medical workers with lifetime Red Sox tickets The workers are treating coronavirus patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. By Cindy Boren ●  Read more »   For seniors, a silver lining: 'The FaceTime is really quite unbelievable to me' The novelty of video calling wore off long ago for most people, but for isolated seniors in retirement homes, it's new – and it's a small miracle. By Sydney Page ●  Read more »   A man spent $82,000 on gift cards and sent them to every home in an Iowa town The anonymous gift giver said he didn't want to leave anyone out. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   An unlikely bright spot in a pandemic: A tiny picnic table for squirrels is a hit Rick Kalinowski just wanted to feed the squirrels. Now he's making squirrel-size furniture. Perspective ●  By John Kelly ●  Read more »   A West Virginia church spends Easter making masks, other PPE using 3-D printers The church is trying to help a local hospital in an economically depressed area of West Virginia that has struggled with the opioid epidemic. By Sarah Pulliam Bailey ●  Read more »   He's stuck at home for his 12th birthday. Thousands of strangers helped his dad with a surprise. "Kudos to all the people taking time out of their day to make a 12-year-old boy feel good," said Jody Smith. By Kim Bellware ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Pushing against gender roles, now that we're all home together My husband and I continue to negotiate how both of us can do our jobs and also care for our son and daughter full-time. Perspective ●  By Kelly J. Kelly ●  Read more »   How to show 'lovingkindness' despite social distancing Ancient religions contain wisdom about being human that has been crowdsourced across the centuries. Opinion ●  By Sarah Hurwitz ●  Read more »   Coronavirus is putting stress on some romantic relationships. Here are 6 ways to manage it. Heightened anxiety can be hard to live with, both if you're the one who has it or if you're living with a partner and their worries 24 hours a day in isolation. Perspective ●  By Alice Boyes ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out About US for candid conversations about identity in 21st-century America. Join the discussion, every Friday morning. Sign up »

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