The Last Bit of Light

I've come to see that we understand ourselves retrospectively. We finally have a handle on childrearing after our children are grown, we look back on work and plans and decisions and shake our heads in disbelief at some of the choices we made. Only now do we see that what, at the time, seemed inevitable probably could have been altered, and very different. 

But then there comes that time for many of us when we finally realize what matters and what doesn't, and we appreciate the fact that our most critical lessons actually came from our failures rather than our successes, and our strength and bravery emerged out of our darkest fears.

{ pictured, sunset view on my way home from rehearsal tonight }