Best Of MetaFilter

Stand In Pride is an organization that provides stand in family members for the LGBTQ+ community when their biological family doesn't show up. Because family is what you make it, as highlighted in chocoat's post about this amazing organization!

Dyker Lights 32 - Lonely Glowing Snowman by Amaury Laporte (cc by)

Chavenet shared an amazing piece of fiction, "Christmas on the Moon", by Harrison Scott Keyby. It's a moving, somewhat unconventional story, about Christmas, home, and finding a place while guarding fireworks.

By ArtBrom from Seattle - Neil Peart's drum solo, CC BY-SA 2.0

I can connect my own life to music because of Peart, and because of Peart I can better understand the life stories of my family.

Lilac girl shares an eloquent memorial of the complex and multiform interior connection her family has had to Neil Peart and Rush.

Hold It In Your Hands by B Tal (cc by-nc)

Besides saying 'I love you,' were there things that your family (or other important adults in your life) did to show you that you were loved and appreciated?

How were you shown you were loved as a kid?

Mefites recall: What's a weird thing your family did that you thought was normal until you moved out?

Butterfly Gold Corelle Vintage by Vintage19Something (cc by)

Did your family have Corelle dishes? "All those memories in the little things like cups and place mats and jelly jars."

watching together by KellyReeves (cc by-nd)

Servo5678 on watching Iron Man with his grandfather.

honour the immigrant by byronv2 (cc by-nc)

I'm a trustee of the (tiny) BritCits campaign group and charity which works on behalf of divided families, includes spouses, civil partners, parents and children, elderly dependants etc.

Plep comments to add context, further info and lots of links in the UK Thomas Podgoretsky deportation case post: 1, 2, 3

3-eyed Bear by Brandon James Scott (cc by-nc-nd)

Please Don't Ursinate in Pool! – Atom Eyes

Shibori's first post about a video of a home pool invasion by bears is a fun thread with some great anecdotes from nevercalm and Nerd of the North.:

a bear that is not much larger than a traditional stuffed teddy bear is quite strong enough to do whatever it wants, fuck you very much

After several months of eating nothing but salmon, you'd be pretty desperate for a Breath Saver, too.

"I don't know," I said. "What do you think it is? I have an idea but it's kind of disgusting."

C.W. Billings (LOC) by The Library of Congress

MetaFilter member HuronBob got an amazing Christmas present one morning, his own rifle. He not only learned how to shoot it, but also learned what it meant to have a dad.

It was an Ithaca, single shot, lever action .22! All I had to do was throw on some boots and head for the fields across the street. Look out, rabbits! Get out of my way, crows! I'm after big game, fox, deer, elephant!

"First you have to learn how to shoot it safely."