Second Chances

There is one question that everyone gets asked at a very early age. What do you want to be when you grow up? Some kids know from the very beginning, some kids change it several times and yet some adults never figure it out. Little boys want to be firemen and little girls want to be mommy’s or nurses. But some of those little girls end up being doctors and some of those little boys teachers. It is all about finding your passion. When I was little I knew I would be a writer. There was no doubt in my mind. My second grade teacher read us the Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe and I remember being mesmerized by the fact that someone thought that whole story up. When I would see a movie or read a book I would think I wish I wrote that or perhaps thought I could have written it. Later in High School, my English teacher put me in an Independent Poetry Study because she saw something special and it made me feel special that someone else saw something in me that might give me a chance to shine. In college, I always aced the essay parts of my exams. I loved to write.

Writing was always my plan until life got in the way. I fell in love and had a family. Passions fell to the way-side and putting a roof over our heads and paying the mortgage became the priority. Three decades later, I am outside looking in. I watch as my daughter follows her passion which is drama. She has gotten in a prestigious school and loves everything about it. She is so sure that she is going to be a success that I have no doubt that she will succeed. It is funny; the one thing that side tracked me (having a family) is inspiring me to find mine again. My kids are encouraging me in different ways. I have always told them that they have an empty canvas just waiting for the master piece. I guess that I kind of thought that my canvas had been painted on long ago, front and back! But maybe it is not too late.

Four years ago, we lost our store, Rose In The Woods in an earthquake. Both of our cars were flattened by the roof of our building sliding down onto them. Two women died running out of the store next to ours. My daughter had asked if she could wait in the car while I ran in to open up. I thank God everyday that I talked her into coming in and helping me open because the two women were found between my car and another. Everything inside was lost inside of our store but stuff is just stuff and I would trade it all to have my daughter safe. I just can’t imagine what it is like for those families that lost their loved ones. Four years later, the tragedy is still just as raw and real but life has gone on. When I hear of fires or earthquakes or storms that are happening to other people, I never can quite look at it the same way ever again. I remember standing in the park with the other merchants on our street and thinking, life is going on, people are actually still Christmas shopping a few miles away and have no idea what we have just lost.