Landslide at the Crossroads

By Carol Woolum Roberts

In 1974, Stevie Nicks wrote a song that has resonated with women for almost 50 years by having us ask these questions.

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

By the end of the first line of the lyrics above, I am sure many of you started singing along to the song Landslide.

The first time this song hit me (and made me cry) was hearing it during the senior year of high school of my youngest daughter Cosette, and realizing that

Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too

This came at a time in my life when my daughters would all be gone, out of the house.  I had built my life around being their mother.  Life was changing.

This past weekend in my hometown I hosted 13 women I went to the University of Idaho with in the early 1980’s. We all lived in the Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Within this next year, we will all be hitting a milestone birthday, turning 60 years old.

We had a very accomplished group of women gathered, who have built their lives since college being engineers, teachers, a doctor, a nurse, a judge, a chief prosecuting attorney, a CPA, someone in finance, a cartographer, telecommunications, and myself, who doesn’t quite know how to define herself at this crossroads of her life.

We all are…at a crossroads.  Some are approaching it, some are there, and some have gone beyond, as they look at what is next in their life.  Some are struggling.  Some are jumping in with both feet and taking what comes their way. Some are asking questions about trying to find their purpose.

My sorority sisters and I join the global sisterhood throughout the ages who have asked and continue to ask themselves these questions…

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

If you have been following my blog writing or other Grow Me A Story social media posts, you know we are doing a 90 Days of Autumn Awareness creative challenge.

Autumn has been on my mind.  That is the season I am in right now.  All those who gathered together this past weekend remind me of the trees that are starting to turn color.  Their true beauty is emerging during this autumn season as they put on a show of the many layers of reds, yellows, oranges and browns that erupt into color almost overnight.

My friends represent the beautiful hues of autumn, the rich colors, the coziness, the harvest of lives well lived, and the hope of more beauty and richness to come.

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How do the lyrics to the song Landslide resonate with you at this time in your life?

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