View from the North 40: I am redefining my comfort zone

Knowledge gives me comfort — but I think that’s true of everyone.

Think about parents with their first child. Everything the child does is interesting or worrisome, and studied for understanding. The second child is a lot more boring, and if they get up to, say, six children then that last one can be running feral in the street with grapes stuffed in its nostrils and pencil firmly grasped in one hand, and the parents are, like, “Meh, it’s OK. Kids are resilient. Remarkable creatures, really. Whatever happens will build character. Everything is a life lesson.”

I make no secret of the fact that...