Lines

The other day at work I put my iPOD on to help me to concentrate better. I drowned out all of the outside noise and finally made some headway on my projects. But Brandi Carlile came on and I had to break concentration and just listen for a minute.

For those of you who don't know Brandi, I will just say "why not?" She has a beautiful, strong voice and the twins who accompany and write some of her music are just extraordinary. This afternoon I was listening to Brandi's song, "the story". The song starts with a reference to the lines on her face. The lines tell the story of her life.

This song reminded me of my mom. I remembered when I was a kid, probably about 10, I over heard my mother confide in an older lady friend of hers. My mom was worried about her newly developing crows feet and other assorted wrinkles that come along with growth. My mom was wondering what there was to be done. This older woman announced to my mother that those were nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Those wrinkles, or laugh lines, were a tribute to how much she enjoyed life. A tribute to how often she smiled and how popular she was.

Some people call them "worry lines", some call them "laugh lines", whatever you want to call them, they make up who we are. We are what life makes us. We are what we become.Our experiences, our fears, our laughter, our smiles and our problems, they all take their toll on us. They all help to sculpt the lines of our face.

D.