Rather than leave a comment on Scott's post, I thought I'd post a reply.

I can't speak for the others, but I can certainly identify (I think) with the emotions behind your post. Since when did life get messy? Bad things happening to good people with permanent repercussions that are entirely beyond my control. And this circle or buffer of "well, at least it doesn't apply to me" is getting closer and closer to me (and those that I directly love).

But with all that said, I also think I entirely identify with your "enjoyment of right here, right now". And I think I'm in a special place to make that observation, as it is my job to deal with the 19 to 23 demographic. Sure, these people are young, vibrant, witty, intelligent, and fun. Just yesterday, I was goofing off w/ some grad students who brought their Wii and plugged it into the Plasma in one of our classrooms. But with all that said, these girls have relatively little under the hood. And as a result, I really have no attraction to go back to that stage in life. It seems as if it's life without a context; one is constantly reacting rather than proacting. How exhausting. And the depth that is there may feel deep to them, but it's a kiddie pool ignorant of the adult pool just over there. Without the life experiences (if not suffering) that Scott describes below, one is stuck in the kiddie pool. Kiddie pools are great, but they're also limiting, crowded, and awkwardly / inexplicably warm.

Yeah, I like where I am.

And as an aside, who's the moran (misspelling intentional) that thought an IPO would be a good idea during the time of Sarbanes-Oxley? Secondly, C. had a few of those CSF-related headaches post baby #2--and wow, did those ever knock her on her butt. From what I understand, worse than the actual childbirth itself.

I recently posted a goofy "25 random things" thing on FB, and my first entry that read something like "Now, more than ever am I appreciating my faith in God" applies here. Dealing with the muck of life without an anchor of faith just seems utterly incomprehensible to me. The muck of life @ 25 is distant and unappreciated. The muck of life @ 35 is approaching and real. Interesting for us to have this conversation @ 45.

Hello friends ...

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here. Everyone doing well?

A list:

1. Brother S's wife gives birth. Puncture wound from epidural causes spinal fluid to leak. Brother S's wife now suffers unbelievable headaches. In fact, the headaches are so bad that they are actually considering moving to a different region of the country with a climate (weather pattern) that is more conducive to getting her 100% mobile.

2. My illness flairs up, severe enough to cause me to leave my job and come home. Takes 9 to 12 months to fully get back on my feet (I'm about 95% normal at present).

3. Sister's child is born with kidney issues. She is told that he will likely grow out of them.

4. Brother R looses job. This is a company that he owned back before his partners foolishly decided to take the company public through an IPO. Twenty-severn years in one company and suddenly it's "No room at the inn." He is struggling to find something in this economy.

5. Father, aged 79, looses his job. After working as many as three jobs at a time over the years (just to afford to put us all through private schools and whatnot), he was still working 40 hours per week.

6. Father suffers heart attack. We are told that he needs 6 to 7 bypasses. They are able to do 4. He is currently recovering.

7. Sister's child does not outgrow kidney issues. Needs corrective surgery in March.

This is neither anything close to a complete list nor is it an attempt to gather pity. The point of this post is this. I honestly think that we have entered that stage of life where youth has eluded us and we are now faced with more impending funerals than we are faced with weddings. It's an interesting stage of life. I had assumed that I would dread this day, but what I have found is that I am more at ease living in my own skin now than I ever was as a twenty-something. I like being 35. And while I miss certain things about my twenties, I find that I am actually a far more interesting person now than I was back then. I am not young. But age, hopefully wisdom, and experience have given me a richness of life that I never had before.

What do you think? Do you like being in your 30s? Do you miss youth? Do you totally disagree with this post and think that you still are young? Just curious ...

1. There's an applicant w/ a last name of Funderburk. Never heard of that surname before...

2. Another applicant has a state senator as a reference. These things do not bother me, because I routinely speak truth to power.

Dear Mom,

I am truly very sorry that your precious snowflake does not qualify to be reviewed for graduate school admission. You see, the minimum GPA is 3.0, while your precious snowflake is sporting a stout 2.50. (A rule that is set by the graduate school, by the way.) (Note: the average GPA for real applicants is easily > 3.3.) And while her combined GRE may be an impressive feat in your eyes, the other applicants are besting her combined score with their verbal alone.

So when I contacted your daughter to explain to her why we cannot consider her for acceptance (again) due to rules that are not of my doing, it would seem that you contacting me--again (last and this year)--may not be the most efficient path towards your daughters success. Leaving nasty voicemails and emails, citing that I'll "rue the day", unfortunately do not change the reality of the minimum standards set by the university that are outside of my control, relative to your precious snowflake's academic performance over a 4 year time-frame. Moreover, your invasive "black hawk (helicopter)" parental behavior quite assures the reality that she will not be considered regardless of magical changes her academic profile.

Thank you very much for your time, and all my best.

Ok--long story short, I fixed my car last night by isolating an errant circuit board, taking it out of the car, finding a bad solder and resoldering it.

I rule.