The Apples in My Orchard

18 – A Haiku.

Once, you are eighteen

Dreams Alive In Front of You

Fully breathe it in

An Ode to Eighteen.

In mid-life, I realize and acknowledge that I have become a lot of things…..

• a mother
• a wife
• a daughter
• a sister
• a friend
• a nurse
• a teacher
• a writer
• a jewelry maker
• a traveler
• a gardener
• a conservationist

No, I do not claim to be any more or any less than any other person, once eighteen.

It is the age of dreams,  both big and small.

There, you are poised for the rest of your life.

I was eighteen, once.

But, at eighteen, I saw the world differently than I do now.

At 18, I was different. I thought my path was chosen or set.

Now I know it was not. Life is fluid and paths diverge like

little tributaries off the foundation of the river.

At Eighteen, I traveled far but came home.

At eighteen, I lacked the experience the rest of my life has given me.

At eighteen, I was:

• naive
• trusting
• hopeful
• scared
• quiet
• shy
• 40
• goofy
• nerdy
• skinny
• smart
• a musician
• a reader

Eighteen you are a milestone for some, a marker along the road of life. For others, you mean nothing, relegated to just another day in a life of aging. My youngest son is now eighteen, poised to choose a path for his future.  It will be interesting to see where life takes him. Eighteen has taught me where we start is often not where we end up.

I’m not sure I’d want to be eighteen again. I like where I’ve ended up!