Genie in a Bottle

There are a lot of ways that a woman can "lose herself" along the path of life.  The young mother years can take over your life and you might find yourself always putting the needs of others before yourself.  And of course, that is a sign of maturity to be able to do that at times.  But if you always do that you aren't taking care of yourself and that is important, too.  You can just get so busy with life and all it's obligations that you don't take time to be who you are.  Work, raising a family, church and community obligations can take a lot of time.  And beside, women are spiritual by nature and you have to nurture that part of yourself.  That takes quiet time and quiet space to be alone with yourself and with God. Such a luxury for a mother.

There are lots of ways to lose touch with who you are.  I remember once reading about a women's conference where the women had to introduce themselves with their maiden names.  I stopped and pretended I was there and introduced myself to the audience.  It was a transformative moment. Hiding inside of me was my old self - the girl of my youth. She and I had to get reacquainted.

Now at age 70 I feel like I am totally me.  But getting to this point was a long process.  I believe that life on earth was given to us as a gift by a loving Heavenly Father who knew we needed this experience of mortality before we could enjoy immortality.  Getting to know myself, to like myself, and to be happy being myself was one of my most important lessons.  This poem was written at a pivotal point where I just realized it was time to be me again.