One of my very favorite short stories is the story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. In in, Rachel is turning eleven. At the beginning of the story she profoundly states that when you turn one year older you also keep the last year within you. Through the story she talks about wishing she were five and she points out when she acts like she is one and so on.
I am 31 but I tell you, there are days when I act like I am sixteen. On Tuesday nights when I gather with my dear bible study girls who are in their early twenties, I begin to act like I am 25 instead of 31. Some nights, after a trying day or when I have just had more than I think I can handle I am 3. And during the times when I just need to cry I am one. But, I am all those ages. I have lived them all, learned from them all and they all live inside of me.
What I really want is to look like I did when I was sixteen, have the knowledge I have as a 30 year old, and the energy I did when I was two. Is that asking too much?
2 comments:
I like that idea: all those ages are still a part of me. It does get "crowded" however as 56 creeps up!I could use a little 16 year old energy about now.
Very well-spoken. I love this post.
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