Continuity

I think when I was a teenager
My folks may have repented
The folly of giving birth to me.
But now the grey hair
Is on the other foot,
And my aging mother depends
Very much on my cousin and I
For everyday tasks and concerns.
What a precarious existance
It must be-that's life, I guess-
The petulant child
Grows into the semi-devoted caregiver.
The hair-tearing years of adolescence
Have blossomed into Social Security.

Trip to Ponca

I was thinking how lucky I've been in my life-with experiences with my late husband & farming & animals & people. I've seen calves born-helped even with their birth-kittens born and raised-chickens, ducks, turkeys & peacocks-gardens plowed and planted and harvested. I've been a part of the land here and I've loved it. I've had a rich life, rich in experiences and adventures. Rich in cats & books & people and jobs I've held (and some I tried to hold), rich in pain and heartbreak and love and joy. All the things that count. I've been forced to look within, to become stronger and more honest.

In short; I've been lucky in that I've risen to some of my challenges, let some go and hung in there and finished some of the projects I started years ago. What more could you ask of life?