By comparison to what I was as a high school freshman, my son is very socially adept. He makes friends easily—both male and female. We don’t always know as much about his friends as we would like. Last night he went to a movie with a girl we don’t know. But her last name made it obvious I know her grandparents, and knew her great grandparents. It was comforting to have a point of reference.

I also reminded myself that none of us get our character from our surname.