Watching on the sidelines

Periphery. As I get older I find myself on the periphery more, especially when I am around young people. It as it should be I suppose. "All is right with the world," my older brother in law would say at family events when he was around his young grown children, and the young ones were the centre of attention. They were taking their place in the world.

Move over, I remember my young adult self well. I still feel pretty connected with her and I am surprised to find that is time to move over already but it is. I have to make room for the young bright ones to blossom and be themselves. They are like Johnny Jump Ups, Pansies and Petunias. Their beautiful showy heads rising to take their place in the summer of their lives. I can keep blossoming but I'll be more of a geranium, good and steady. Hardy. There, but off to the side a bit. 

Change the world. Everybody gets their chance to make their mark on their time and place. Little things. Big things. From the periphery, I can see that the world is changing. I like a lot of it. This is not a rant about how the world is not like it used to be. Of course it isn't. It should not be.

Sometimes though I wonder why everything seems bigger and better than when I started out. Expectations are grander. But life is no bigger. Life is still only as big as ever, but no bigger. Our cups can only hold so much. 

Abundance. Knowing when you are full. Knowing when to turn off the tap.

Seeking beauty. Seeing it in others as they take their place in the world.

Amazing. Little children grow up to become tomorrow.

From the periphery I can see more. I like that. When you stand on the edges of a crowd there is a lot to observe. A lot to take in. A lot to feel. When I called my friend and told her about being on the periphery of life she said she feels it too. Then she said something beautiful. She said that I was not on her periphery. 

Central. We remain central to each other as we age and grow older together. We keep in touch, not just to remember what was, but so we can love what is new and beautiful about an ever changing world. So we can find our place in it for we remain. And those who remain always have more to give.