That’s it, folks. All it took was a blink of an eye and perhaps a few too many $1 iced coffees and summer has drawn to a close. Well, not really. Google tells me that the official last day of summer is September 22. For me, it’s always been Labour Day (the first Monday of September). For others, it’s when pumpkin spice is unleashed back into the world. Whatever your position, be happy, because it’s time for the monthly speedlink.

To start this month’s collection, we’ve got “Social Dad” James Smith explaining several things that you didn’t know about your parents (but probably should). You may have figured out by now that your “Mum and Dad… have no clue how to raise you. They’re figuring it out as they go along.”

At long last, we know the secret to being happy? David Levine reports on long-term studies that indicate friends are the key to happiness. The conclusion is based on a longitudinal study that have followed 268 men since 1938, including then-future President John F. Kennedy. As it turns out, strong personal connections correlated most directly to “overall happiness, better health and more contentment.”

I’ll admit that I’ve put on a few (okay, more than a few) pounds since becoming a dad. And I’m not alone. Jamie Schmidt has quite the extensive account of his personal weight loss journey. He says that he’s been wanting to lose weight for years. He just never really did it. Myself, I know I need to take better care of myself, dad bod and all.

You know how they say that privilege is invisible to those who have it? Shammara Lawrence points out that hating fast fashion is a privilege. And it’s totally true. Just like hating processed food or generic household products. Because for a lot of people, that’s what their budget can accommodate. Not everyone can afford to buy “investment pieces” that are “usually worth the money.”

There’s never enough time, right? That’s a mantra (is that the right word?) I hear all too often, including inside my own head. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits offers some simply sage advice to counter that. If you want to read more, then develop a daily reading habit. Schedule the time, make it a priority, and you’ll make it happen. I’ve been doing a reading challenge this year and it’s been richly rewarding.

On a related note about finding the time, Patty K explores a simple productivity hack to get more done. Basically, give yourself less time to do it. Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” You procrastinate because you allow yourself the space to procrastinate. So, stop doing that.

Life with children is just different. Your priorities shift and planning for things is just, well, different. So take a page out of Dashing Dad and heed his advice for for driving with a toddler. We’re not talking about grocery runs; we’re talking road trips. The furthest we’ve driven with the little one is to Seattle last summer, which took about two or three hours.

And finally, we turn to the one and only Rebecca Coleman for some keen insight into the role of luck. Sometimes, it can feel like you’re doing all the right things, yet you don’t get the desired results. Then you see someone else do almost the same thing and they’re skyrocketing their way to Internet fame and fortune. What gives? Sometimes, you just have to be willing to meet Lady Luck halfway.