Change Your Mind

I remember trying asparagus as a child
And beets and broccoli.
I didn’t like the way asparagus felt in my mouth,
And broccoli was like eating pebbles.
Beet juice reminded me of blood.
My grandmother said
I’d change my mind as I grew older
And I did.

I remember thinking that little boys
Were cootie machines,
Who could spit dirt and get filthy
In a hospital room.
I couldn’t imagine little boys growing up
Into anyone as cool as my dad.
But he told me I’d change my mind
When I grew older.
And I did.

I remember thinking that my older brother
Always got to do everything
And it seemed as if I was never old enough
To do all I wanted to do.
He had a job and money and could go to the movies.
He told me not to rush growing up
And to enjoy just being a kid.
He was sure that when the time came for me
To do the responsibility thing
I’d change my mind.
And he was right.

I remember growing up
As a fairy tale child,
A princess, with everything
Destined to marry her doctor or lawyer
And live the perfect Barbie life.
Never thought I’d change my mind about those things,
But I did.

I fell in love
And thought it was forever.
I thought he was the most wonderful,
Most perfect man anyone could ever find.
I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world.
Wish stuff hadn’t happened to change my mind,
But it did.

So I don’t live the cookie-cutter life
My parents planned.
But I have three grown children
Who are all off on their own and doing all
The things they are meant to do.
They, as well as I
All now enjoy asparagus, broccoli and beets
Having changed their minds along the way.

My eldest tells her children that someday
They will change their minds
And decide to keep their rooms clean
As she eventually did.
Occasionally she’ll tease me about all the times
I’ve changed my mind about such things
As men or where to live
Unable to see, as yet, all the times
She has changed hers.

We joke about changing our minds
Assuming we could find them;
Often feeling as if we’d lost our minds
Somewhere mid shuffle.
I look back now at all I’ve done,
Mistakes I’ve made,
And stumbling blocks oft made into stepping stones
And I realize that I am, at long last,
Comfortable in my skin-
With who and what I am.
I won’t change my mind about that!