Rollerblading Behind a Triplet Stroller
written by: Mid-Life Mama
Strapped on rollerblades
skated behind a triplet stroller,
my world secured in those three seats
today, tomorrow, forever
Hundreds of family photos
decades of memories in print,
not one exists of our daily adventure
throughout the toddler and preschool stint
It was just them and me
and neighbors smiling in their doorways,
chubby hands with dimpled fingers
pointing through the greenways
At every bird, stop sign and the sky
eyes filled with wonderment,
endless questions of “why?”
They are my bucket list
my sacrifice
my deepest joy;
the souls of my greatest investment
no longer little girls and a boy
So much teaching, reading
gone, in the rearview of my life,
the toddlers now adults
one already a wife
I’m still fledging since these birds have flown
wildly uncomfortable in this boundless unknown;
there’s been plenty of time to adjust, renew, begin the second act
yet I’m stuck, trapped, anxious to get myself back
An ambitious young woman, once upon a time
wearing suits and heels, poised in her prime;
perhaps she would return to the child-paused path
though unlikely, that woman now an old photograph
The former rendition of self long gone…
it is time for the emergence
of an updated life song
To rise and develop
into a novel version they can see,
creating a new life and tribal rhythm
for their adulting family tree
Retaining the best of the original
morphing Mama with the Mid-Lifer,
the voice in their heads
may my example be wiser
For one day they too
will begin to reflect,
upon the years they have lived
arriving at life’s intersect
Between the past that was
and the current now real,
this juncture with no directions
lead her to kneel
Before the One Who was
and always will be,
the Source of blessing
she prayed with plea
To give the flying fledglings prosperity and joy
absent the hold-backs that seek to destroy;
the dreams of the young, not believing they can
but they are stronger, smarter, a confident clan
They know who they are and to Whom they belong,
understanding their worth
in a world gone wrong
Achievements won, international travels taken
already successful, building their reputations;
their heads held higher than prior generations ever did
certain of themselves and their gifts placed within
Drive and enthusiasm helping them soar,
on the wings of the One Who said-
you are meant for more
Yes, He answered above and beyond what I could have imagined
while rolling that stroller, wondering what would happen;
for the three little humans far off and “someday”
when they were young adults, so many years away…
Yet, here we are,
it arrived within minutes
that “someday” empty nest
no longer in the distance
Piercing silence now filling my home
the toddlers stand tall, fully grown;
though quiet, an unwelcome, permanent guest
frequent togetherness marks me truly blessed
I’m blazing a mid-life trail
though still ambling slowly,
writing this subsequent storyline
can sometimes be lonely
But resurrecting buried dreams
opened my heart to finally believe;
I am allowed to step off that rigid, same path
creating different in this life’s second half
New adventures not replacing the old,
simply adding bright chapters
to the mid-life journey beginning to unfold
My Father reveals fresh plans each day,
building upon the now-dusty rollerblades.
- Rollerblading Behind a Triplet Stroller - May 9, 2025
