Her Reflection

She is a baby noticing her reflection for the very first time. She is in amazement at the big blue saucer shaped eyes staring back at her. Her father holds her tight around him and points at the mirror and says "baby" and she continues to stare back at her father and baby imitating their every move. Her fat fingers reach for her reflection and suddenly,
She is five and trying to climb the stool she pulled in front of her vanity sink to reach high enough to see herself. Her curls are draped around her cheek bones and the crown that she placed on her head is slightly tilted to the left. She squeals with satisfaction as she inspects her beautiful crown. Her parents exchange a look of satisfaction from the next room as they share the bond of mutual pride knowing they made the giggle that was coming from that precious little life. The laugh is full and most innocent and nothing is held back. As she reaches to straighten her crown with her hands and finger and fingernails painted purple she looks back to find the reflection of,
A nervous sixteen year old getting ready for her first date.She is teasing her hair and applying her eyeliner. Her eyes are filled with a gitty hope and puppy love. Her yellow cordless phone with a long wire antenna is hanging on her ear as she goes over with her best friend for the 12th time what she will do if he tries to kiss her at the movie or at the end of the night before he drops her off at home.As she hangs up her phone to check her lip liner one more time she finds,
A bride lifting her veil and smiling with such joy and peaceful happiness. Her dreams all rolled up into one beautiful white wedding dress. Her hopes for the future stare back and it's as if her reflection says a thousand words back at her. As her Mother comes up behind her with joyful tears in her eyes she turns to her. She looks back to find,
An exhausted mother. Exhaustion mixed with utter joy leave her with a grin and a major case of bags under her eyes. She washes the night away and splashes water on her swollen eyes The same eyes that spent four hours the night before up staring at her newborn and feeding him for what felt like, all night long. she is more tired that she has ever been but she doesn't care because she has spent the night wrapping her hand around her new baby's finger, noticing every arch in his skin and knowing out of pure love she created this life. As she bends down to pick up the blocks she was about to trip on, she smiled thinking of her toddler she looked up to see,
The image of a woman clumsily applying lipstick knowing she needed to leave the house 5 minutes ago for her first parent teacehr conferences. Her husband is straightening his tie behind her in the corner of her reflection and passionately talking about a scuffle that happened that day at the office. She is worried the babysitter will never arrive and even more worried about the cough her son has had now for a few weeks. Should I call the pediatrician again she asked herself. It was an instant before,
She was forty-seven years old and applying anti wrinkle cream and removing her teeth whitening tray. She is admiring the new lines in her skin at the corners of her eyes. She wonders when she started to look old and when the clock seemed to be ahead of her rather than her ahead of the clock. Time seems to be passing to quickly now and she is worried about her growing children and what life will be like when they are gone and living their own life. She worries that soon the house she worked so hard all her life for will be far to big and she will just spend most of her day walking the floors wondering what to do with all the empty rooms. she worries she will no longer be enough for her husband, it has been so many years since it has been just the two of them. And, she worries that her body will continue to deteriorate faster than her mind. In a split moment she is,
Looking at a reflection she is forced to blink a few times toe see clearly. Her gray hair is set in her curlers and her big sad eyes are staring back at her. She is dressing for her forth funeral this year and thinking all all the friends and family she has outlived. She thinks about bending down to fix her knee high stockings but fears her recent knee replacement will fail her so she lets the stocking slide down and sighs with her best kind of sigh.With all the energy she thinks she has in her she lifts her hand to meet her hands reflection and for one of the very last times, she smiles...