Last I night I had this stupid dream. It was a lot more complex and had more magical moments than I'm going to put in here, simply because I don't want to dwell on it too much -- lots to do today, but it's sure left me feeling a bit funky for the last couple of hours.

One of the main characters was this guy I went to school with from the first grade on... and on... and on.... And he was always a complete and utter ass. I mean totally and completely. So he's in this dream. A lot. But we were getting along (such a strange thing), and I woke up thinking about him, and his father (who was a friend of my father's and my seventh grade English teacher), and his sister (who was always very nice to me and ended up with significant problems in life, which completely sucks), and things this idiot did and said to me and to other people I really liked and cared about FIFTEEN years ago. (Well, there were a couple moments from first grade, but those are not as salient in my mind. Not that any of this should be.)

What is it about our childhoods and teenage years that continues to run so deep and strong that continues to affect us throughout the rest of our lives?