What 35 Years Taught Me About Meaning

I turn 35 today, and it's wild ... When I was a kid, everyone a step ahead of me looked grown. I remember being in elementary school, watching the high schoolers, sure they had it all figured out. I remember them riding by our bus mooning us, calling the HS for "bomb threat Friday" and being struck by how young, wild and free they were. Step by step I got there too. I had my wild years, my serious finding-myself years in my 20s, a couple of short stints as a globetrotter, and it all led here. I boomeranged back to New Jersey after swearing I never would, I work off of computers that I swore off after Uni, I married a woman carrying every bit of the baggage I swore I'd avoid, and had a kid this past year. That last one I always knew I wanted, but a lot of what I've learned is that growing up is mostly unlearning. It's letting go of who you thought you'd be while doing your level best to stay true to who you actually are. I used to have a lot of high-falutin' notions about being…