“Delayed marriage, as well as widespread acceptance of sex, cohabitation, and parenting outside of marriage, have all played a role in making the boundary between ‘part of the family’ and ‘outsider’ unclear. Add in the fact that older relatives, whose ideas of what’s acceptable might date back to an earlier era, often play gatekeeper at family functions, and the end product is a holiday-season headache for a lot of dating and engaged couples.” The Atlantic: When Does a Boyfriend or Girlfriend Become Part of the Family? (On this topic, I tend to be a traditionalist. If they’re attractive, they’re part of the family.)

+ After two people have been together for a while, every fight they have seems to offer an opportunity to bring up every other fight they’ve ever had. Which is why I’m guessing that when John and Charlotte Henderson have a spat, it takes a while. WaPo: She’s 105. He’s 106. The world’s oldest living couple celebrates 80 years of marriage.