It is odd, reminding myself I am nearly 57, sitting in my parents’ kitchen.

Surrounded by memories and sounds

I can blink my eyes and clearly feel my feet on other paths.

I could be a weary mother

Visiting to pick up grandkids freshly exhausted and excited from their 2 week hiatus

And exploring new paths away from me

I could be a young mother, babe at breast

Visiting new grandparents and great grandparents (folks now passed),

Hoping to learn from the paths they walked before me.

I could be a young bride-to-be, preparing for life journeys and partners who would fade and grow.

Paths u imagined still ahead of me.

All of these women echo inside of me, shaping the timbre of my voice.

And yet I reflect the crone…more life behind me than ahead, children traveling on their own life paths.

Pondering the paths possible still.