I was almost 40, and at that time, 40 felt so OLD.  Even as I stood at the precipice.  It was official, by most standards, I was now middle-aged.  I hate that phrase; middle aged.  I certainly didn’t feel 40.  I felt as if I had finally begun to get the hang of this short span of time that we call life.

I only remember snippets of my youth.  I’m not certain if this is due to a traumatic event, or if I am normal, and simply remember just as much as anyone else does. One thing is for certain, I wish I could recall so much more of my youth.

The day before my tenth birthday, I recall loudly announcing to anyone that would listen, that I would never again be in the single digits.  I proudly proclaimed this fact, as my heart and mind filled with pride.  While making this proclamation, I was kicking and thrusting my little legs as hard as I could, in my never-ending effort to soar over the bar. I had long desired to one day be the first to swing in a complete circle over the bar that held my swing.  I had pretty much convinced myself that I would be. ( I am still in the process of attaining this long ago goal I set for myself.)

That day, on the swings, was more than 30 years ago. Time seems to fly by faster now, even faster than I had hoped to,  that day on the playground.
Though quite a bit of time has passed since that day, I have spent a significant amount reflecting on the events and people that I have seen come and go throughout my life.

A pattern emerged from my reflections. Very few people who entered into my life stayed. In the beginning, I would grieve every departure.  It seemed, that when their time with me was up, they would leave and never look back.  Now, I view these departures in a new and more philosophical way.  These people had to leave my life’s story, in order to continue their own.  However, not before I  made some small, yet significant mark or influence on their lives, as most had left on mine.  Some small change of direction, if you will. That’s when it hit me.

A stepping stone! We are all each other’s stepping stones!  I was not forgotten, my role in their story had simply come to an end.  Be it for now or forever. I now suspect it’s like this for everyone.

Posted by Fran Stone using “WordPress” for Android.