Universe

Just as I was snuggling into my man-made air mattress bed/nest, Rachel spoke up. "I've had this one question that I always ask myself." the 9 year old whispered, as her sister Allison snored quietly by my side. "What's that?" I asked with both curiosity and irritation. [Let's face it, at 11:30 p.m., after a long day of babysitting, I'm not really in the mood for mind-numbing kid-rambling.] But Rachel surprised me. "I wonder what would happen if none of this existed?" She said. I paused for a moment in stunned silence. "...like, your house?" I still couldn't believe that this 9 year old had just asked me one of the most complex, philisophical questions of the century. "No like, everything...even the universe." She replied. "Well," I thought quickly, "that's a good question, Rach. I guess I don't really have an answer for you." She nodded her little head thoughtfully and laid back down on the couch.
I stayed awake utnil 7:00 a.m. that morning, thinking about what Rachel had said. [Also because Allison's tonsils had swollen up to roughly the size of marbles a few hours earlier, and I was worried she'd stop breathing.] But Rachel's question really got to me. I mean, for frigget's sake, she's nine! At nine, I was having pretend make-out sessions with my neighbor's basketball hoop pole. :/
Life is weird.