Where Have I Been All My Life

My home is quiet. The song "Where Have I Been All My Life" is singing in the background as I ponder myself, "where HAVE I been all my life?"

I looked in the mirror this morning and almost didn't recognize the face gazing back at me. She looked much older than the last time I noticed her. The sparkle didn't shine so brightly in her eyes. Her skin appeared drier and not so soft. The lines were much more pronounced since I last saw them. Who am I looking at in that glass?

"Some years are clear and some a little blurry
Man how they fly by
Mom and dad sure got old in a hurry
Where have I been all my life"

I listen quietly as he speaks, my mind floating elsewhere. Will these be the same eyes I look into 30 years from now? His words tell a story I've heard a dozen times before. I nod to acknowledge I understand what he is saying. Will this be my dearly beloved one day down the road?

"Been learning that forgiveness is as much for myself
As it is for the other guy
And I read the good book these days and believe it
Where have I been all my life"

Fast & furious it will hit me. And we will be old. My mother-in-law has spoken recently, as if it crept up on her too, "We're getting old." She recognizes another life changing event is happening and struggles to keep it at arm's length, fearing once it is close it is forever.

With every breath, life becomes a little shorter. Sometimes it is easy not to notice the passing of time. But at other times, I come face to face with reality. And I wonder, Where have I been all my life?