Of Family Weddings and Winnie the Pooh

Well, our happy wedding weekend has ended and we are back to ordinary time until the next wedding in October between our oldest granddaughter, who is the oldest grandchild, and her wonderful fiancé only about a week after our own 55th wedding anniversary. She is marrying a man I have learned to love for his gentleness, kindness, and wisdom. His name isn't Joseph, but he looks like I imagine St. Joseph looked. Like Joseph, he works with his hands in construction.  What a joy to anticipate that next happy family event when they unite in holy matrimony. Larry and I are never more delighted than when we are celebrating with family and what a joy weddings are in a culture that thinks sacred promises are weird and hates children.

We All Live in a Soap Opera! What's Happening in Today's Episode?

I've been reading Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. It accompanied me as my beach book last week when my husband and I were on vacation with our daughter and her family. I heartily recommend it with the warning that it is liberally peppered with obscenities -- the common language of some of Vance's family members. The book shines light on life in Appalachia: the white working poor, the non-working welfare dependents, the difficulty of rising above family circumstances, the devastating impact of alcohol and drug addiction. I kept closing the book and reflecting on thoughts raised by the sad, but often funny, descriptions of the colorful characters in Vance's life. There were a number of takeaways: