Some Other Time

by Angela Brown

Watching Maggie grow up was a privilege. Ellie knows this. Still, it hurt. Over the years, Ellie was constantly forced to watch pieces of her only child’s younger self die, like being a guest at a thousand funerals.

Dramatic... *eyeroll

Mothers always apologize for their children. Anytime they say the wrong thing. Anytime they act even an iota out of line. Really, though, they’re apologizing to and for themselves. I’m sorry. Am I doing this right? Is this the way she’s supposed to behave? Is this the way I’m meant to feel? This is all so much harder than I ever imagined.

For every new door we open in our lives, another one must remain closed. With each new choice we make, no matter how small it may seem at the time—to grab a coffee, to stay put a minute longer, to go home and sulk or not—we commit ourselves to a particular path. A certain destiny. And, often without ever realizing it, we commit all the people we love to this path, too.