Once I was a grammar school Girl Scout
And we sang Christmas carols at the local nursing home.
An old lady cried deeply and silently into a lace hankie.
I watched her disgustedly and thought she should be grateful to have some young people to sing to her.
Years later,
After losing too many never-to-be-replaced loved ones, both people and animals,
Then surviving the rough waters of living the consequences of the choices I made:
A failed marriage and several career mistakes,
The way Time sneaks up on us all
The way the days now go by so much faster than they used to—
I now know why the old lady cried.