Reflections Of The Past Help Make Us Who We Are Today

Have you ever looked in a mirror and failed to recognize
The reflection staring back at you from the other side?
It can be disconcerting
Trying to differentiate between
the reflection you remember from the days of your youth
and the one you now see starring back at you now
The youthful glow
You once took for granted
Has now been replaced with wrinkles and lines
How do you reconcile how you feel on the inside with what you see on the outside
You find yourself wondering
What in the world is going on,
Feeling a bit anxious and confused
As if you’re traveling through time
Flooded with memories both old and new
Some bring happiness making me grin like a Cheshire Cat
Others make you sad,
And you shed bittersweet tears filled with regret
For all that has been left behind
and what might have been
Words left unsaid
NEVER spoken to those we love the most
You thought you had plenty of time
To express the things
You was feeling inside
Deeds left undone
Loved ones left to question
How you REALLY felt about them
All the What if’s and If only’s
Running through your mind so rampantly
Speaking of those memories
You hold SO dear
Why are some like an old photograph
Faded with time
While others you would like to forget
Remain crystal clear in your mind
Though they happened years ago
It seems like only yesterday
Still others are completely gone
as though they never happened at all!
All these things make a life unique
If ANY part was missing, you feel incomplete
You find your physical senses are heightened too
Special places that have shaped who you are now
Sites you thought would ALWAYS be around
to see and to share with family and friends
As well as those new to the neighborhood
Now they’re gone with only a monument or plaque to show where they once stood
Smells fill the air that remind me
Of simpler times
Like days on the farm the taste of Grandma’s cooking
Churning butter and canning fruits and vegetables in jars
Making lye soap in flower shaped molds
ALL this was done at a time and place where you felt safe
The sound of music reminds me of my mother who
could sing, dance a jig, and play most any tune
On an old guitar with well-worn strings
There are the times spent with my Pop who taught me SO many valuable things
like how to milk a cow and count change from the pool room where he worked so hard
He even let me drive his old John Deere around the yard-
(that last one didn’t end so well)
I flipped it over and tore a hole in the fence, cows then stood where they ought not have been
And even though I wasn’t hurt at all
Not even a scratch
I must admit I was scared to death
when I was trapped in the small space between the seat and the ground
Needless to say, I was NEVER allowed to drive that old John Deere AGAIN!
That reminds me of my dad
I didn’t have enough time with him
He died when I was just 15
He too tried to teach me to drive
He was SO full of pride as I sat on his lap
That is until his shiny red truck almost landed in the pond!
With that the driving lesson came to an end!
Ah the pond where my dad first taught me to fish and bait my own hook with a real live worm,
Useful skills for ANY girl!
He even taught me how to shoot his gun!
I’m kinda glad he never got around to hunting
I’m not sure I could handle killing a little bunny or a deer
I didn’t have a problem eating them though, especially when my Aunt Mary prepared the meal
I can still see her cooking up a storm on the stove
Yes ALL these things and SO much more make up a clear reflection of
A life well-lived with those we love!