Kith & Kin

  AI generated by Copilot. Back in my twenties, thirties, and forties, I knew everything. That’s not really true, of course. Let’s say instead that I knew all the conservative Christian rules regarding What kind of music all Christians should listen to. What is and is not modest for women. Exactly what length a man’s hair should be. Which businesses Christians should and should not patronize. Which politicians to support. Which causes to support—and which ones to oppose. Which entertainment choices were acceptable and which were not. [1] I also thought, when I was young, that as I grew older, these Unassailable Truths would become firmer, joined by even more Unassailable Truths (hereafter “UTs”). The wisdom I would possess when I would be, for example, sixty-two would be immense! I would know even more answers! Then life happened. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not questioning my faith (although that exercise is good for you to do every once in a while), and...

Lexie A breeder once told me about the basic difference between a goldendoodle (golden retriever + poodle) and a labradoodle (Labrador retriever + poodle): The goldendoodle is like that guy in your high school class who everybody loved and who loved everybody. The class clown. Not too concerned about grades, just wanting to have a good time with everyone. The labradoodle, though, would be the person who was elected class president—the guy whom everybody liked and respected, who was responsible, the guy who, if there was a problem, wanted to work to solve it. So, for example, when you take a goldendoodle for a walk, she’s loving life—interested in everything, excited about other dogs she sees, just as happy as she can be. The labradoodle will be happy too, but he will be most happy if he can feel he’s accomplishing something during the walk. So he might carry a stick the whole time. “We’re not here just to have fun—we have a job to do!” That’s a labradoodle. Lovely Lexie relaxing ...