The following story was written by Beatrice Wyllie and shared as part of the Memory Project.
At thirteen, she knows everything; she can do anything. She says, “I can do it” and then proceeds to show the entire house that she cannot and doesn’t know how to do it. She is invincible; nothing and no one will hurt her. Oh God, I wish it were true.
At thirty, she is beginning to accept herself as she is and finally is beginning to understand her mother, especially if she has a child herself.
At fifty, she is mellowing, is willing to maybe see the other side of an argument. She is more prone to listen but not necessarily to heed the advice but she is listening.
At seventy, she sees, she listens and she understands. She knows the meaning of the word compassion and doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody, especially herself. “My soul has grown deep like the river.”
[My granddaughter Danielle gave me the inspiration for the first few lines, then the rest came from my own experiences and how I saw and still see my evolvement through each decade of my life.]