sadly, the one thing marty wants, needs and covets most, seems to be the slipperiest target of them all -- ample sleep.

one day, in the future, marty and i will again taste the luxury of plentiful rest but when that time comes i fear we will then desire what we have in surplus now -- time with our kids --- and then be equally unable to conjure enough of it. i liked how marty's aunt put it a few years back. she said when your kids are young you would pay a ridiculous amount of money for just one day without worry or burden, the kind of easy freedom you knew before kids and marriage. then when your kids are gone you would pay any amount, and she stressed emphatically the word 'any', for just five minutes with them when they were little and needed you most.

for as wondrous and experience-rich this life can be, it sure does have a few cruel realities hidden in its folds.