Hello Stranger

by Katherine Center

My entire life up until now had been a before. And now I was in the after.

This is such a strange, overwhelming feeling when it happens. I've felt it a few times with huge, life-changing moments. The times that come to mind are when I've lost loved ones, or had a breakup, or given birth! There's that feeling that a life altering shift has split you off into a new section—and things will never be the same again. Of course, we're changing all the time, and it's impossible to return to how things were even after small changes. But with the big ones, you notice them and feel the shock of them . . . and then it takes a good while to make sense of the new place you find yourself in.