Wanderlust for Now, Yearning for Later

Time has a funny way of making the mind slightly less discerning than it once was.
The slow motion vignettes that trickle through your stream of consciousness always appear so maudlin and rehearsed.
And, of course, things always glimmer gold in the warmth of the past.
The warmth of the words "long ago" and "years before" can tickle and tease the heart.

As she drove out of that place for what would be her last time, she sat in that sweet glow.
Buildings stood aloof to her stares as she concentrated more on the rearview mirror than the road ahead.
It was a place she was sure that, at one point, she had despised.
It was a place that challenged her in so many ways.
For so long there was an animosity built up between them.
But, now, she felt like a foolish child.
She was beginning to cling to the tethers that had once binded her.
A sentimentality that she once felt too mature for.
Perhaps, she thought, this is what growing up was like.
The angst that defines youth slowly wears away... and you're able to wink at small faults.
The smiles, the tears, the frustration, the life- all those things she had come to know intimately.
Now they were the fodder of her flashbacks.
As the buildings are no longer visible, she feels an urge to turn around sink into her head.
But, she never does head back.

And so, life continues and the world keeps spinning around.
And sometimes she sits awake at night and visualizes a world that once was.
A young child walking down an uneven sidewalk, unsure, meek, and naive.
A wistful woman making salutations with the past.

Inspired by "Everyone" by Van Morrison