What does it all mean @ 2:30 a.m.?

My son fell asleep in our bed. I tried to move him, not by lifting his 75-pound body, but by swinging his feet to the floor and standing him upright to walk across the hall and into his room. He flat-out refused. He hissed "No!" in his sleep!

This nearly nine year-old child has absolutely no business being in a queen-sized bed with two adults. It. Just. Doesn’t. Work. I tried in vain to get comfortable, curling myself around him. I couldn’t sleep anyway. In place of a normal dinner at normal hour, I satisfied my midnight munchies with a bag of trail mix labeled “Energy”. Apparently, the “energy” label represents truth in advertising. It’s nearly 2:30 a.m. and I’m wide awake.

Now a refugee from my own bedroom, I’ve retreated to the office to use this “energy” more productively. I’ve set up this blog, and entitled it “What Does It All Mean?” It comes from the De La Soul song “The Magic Number,” which in the song, is the number three. It brings a smile to my face when I think of the disembodied announcer’s voice sampled throughout the track asking that very question. I love how the repetition of “What does it all mean?” adds an existential element to this silly, classic hip-hop jam. Perhaps this thought-provoking question sparked my interest in finding out just what it all means. The “it” being life itself, or the Universe or my very existence.

My blog, accordingly, will explore what it all means day-by-day and moment-by- moment. As I inch closer to my own magic number, the big 5-0, I am especially thrilled and pleased to explore this topic. I invite you to join me.