Something Keith said to me once. Mind you, he’s said a lot to me & I’d like to forget a few. That’s marriage & especially ours. Don’t go making us your poster couple. I’d asked if he still remembered young me. “Lizabeth,” he said, “every time I see your face I see all the yous...

I see you walking the quad in college. I see you at the altar. I see you rocking our babies. Studying all the books. I see you at the weddings & our grandkids’ births. I see you sick & well. I see you old & young.
All the yous, they’re all there together in 1 look at your face.”

It meant so much to me. So much more than if he’d lied & said he looked past the lines & saw me as young. That does not honor the sacredness of aging, the miracle of longevity. I want this one to matter too. “Oh,” he said, “she matters most. She’s all the women you’ve ever been.”