Neighbors, it’s Sunday, and if your household is anything like ours, the conversation around the dinner table keeps circling back to two things: the grocery bill and Tuesday’s vote.

Let’s start with Tuesday. As candidates make their final stops across the country, early voting is running ahead of previous midterms. Whatever your politics, that’s a good sign. When more of us show up, the result belongs to all of us. If you haven’t voted yet, check your polling place and its hours today, and maybe offer a ride to a neighbor who needs one.

Now, about those prices. A new survey from Michigan State University’s American Communities Project found that 47% of Americans say rising prices are causing them real pain, and 70% feel the country is in decline. That second number is a heavy one. But it’s also a reminder that if you’re feeling stretched, you are far from alone.

The latest numbers back up what we see at the pump and in the checkout line. Inflation ticked up again, with gas averaging about $4.25 a gallon, and after-tax incomes, adjusted for prices, slipped last month. Yet the overall economy actually grew at a 3.4% pace this summer. It’s a strange moment when the big picture and the kitchen table tell different stories.

And because we could all use something beyond politics and prices, here’s a story close to the water. Scientists say striped bass, the beloved fish of so many East Coast families, have had eight straight years of weak breeding in the Chesapeake Bay. For anglers and the roughly 100,000 jobs tied to the fishery, it’s personal. Warming waters and pollution are part of the story, which means our choices as a community matter here too.

When times feel uncertain, the most hopeful thing we can do is look after what’s close to home: vote, check in on a neighbor, trim what we can, and share what we have. We’ve been through harder stretches, and we’ve come through them by showing up for each other. Let’s keep doing that this week.