[uclabruinz]

What a great OP and great thread.

I guess I am the rare case in that being a parent hasn't made me stop questioning the meaning of life. Indeed, as my daughter is about to turn 11, and I am 37 and staring 40 in the face, I am questioning things as much as ever. But although I have read my share of existential philosophy, I have never had the level of angst which I think the OP is referring to here.

At any rate, my friend pointed me to this thread because I was bragging that my daughter called from school this morning with the news she was elected VP of her school. She did the whole campaign thing: signs, t-shirts, speeches, etc. All on her own motivation. Pretty amazing for a 10 year old to put herself out there like that. I know we are supposed to set the examples for our kids, and they are supposed to learn from us, but with my daughter it often seems the other way around.

So anyway, mostly I'm just saying I share the joy being described in this thread at being a parent. I have a difficult time describing it, and I like hearing about others who feel the same way.