Much of ordinary life arrives already assembled. Family traditions, attitudes toward money, ideas about work, ways of celebrating, definitions of success, even the objects kept in a kitchen drawer can pass from one generation to the next without much discussion. Inheritance is rarely limited to property.

There is often a brief moment after getting what you wanted when everything feels complete. The purchase arrives. The goal is reached. The good news comes through. Then, almost without notice, attention begins moving again.

Some days, everything seems to happen at once. Messages arrive before the last one has been answered. One piece of news leads immediately to another. A decision creates three new conversations, and information moves faster than there is time to absorb it.

A message ends with a period instead of an exclamation point. Someone takes longer than usual to respond. A familiar expression changes for half a second. Very little has actually happened, yet the mind can build an entire explanation around the smallest piece of incomplete information.