“Anyone up for a game?” I asked optimistically. It was early evening and I didn’t have anything pressing. What a good opportunity for some quality family time. No response. Everyone had settled into their own thing. Books, shows, and random household tasks. I shrugged and shoveled some laundry from the dryer into a basket. I could wait. A few minutes passed and my son wandered by and asked if I wanted to play some basketball in the driveway. I looked at the half-full basket of clothes and told him I just wanted to finish this. A few folded towels later I found him occupied in a video game. I figured if I couldn’t beat ‘em I’d join ‘em and picked the novel I was partway through. Another evening passed with a house full of individuals quietly missing each other. The culture of our family had eroded without my noticing. When our kids were small it was easy to spend time together. We had virtually everything in common. Our kids’ main social group were their siblings and parents. That’s not...