Sarah... Princess... It's all the same to me...

I realize I risk being accused of cashing in on the media circus, (although I don't see why I shouldn't, since everyone else has, except, ironically, her own family, who have proven to be rather camera shy, considering their royal status,) but here goes anyway.   It may surprise people to find out that I actually have quite a lot in common with Princess Diana, that so called Queen of Hearts who died 16 years and one day ago in a Paris hospital after a deadly car crash.  I realize that I am lacking the blond hair and brilliant blue eyes, and I don't have that shy smile quite captured, and I will certainly never be famous, (infamous in my own family, perhaps, but that's about it.)  But I do have a few other things in common that make me think we were sisters under the skin.

Making scents of the world...

Last night, I caught a whiff of a scent which took me right back to the moment I first fell inexpressibly, unutterably, irretrievably in love.  It was a love unlike anything I had ever experienced, so elemental and powerful it almost hurt.  I could hardly breathe as I took in every inch of the new guy in my life, one who, with a single beat of the heart, became the center of my universe.

Here comes the BRIDE!

Twenty one years ago, I learned that a child was on the way.  I literally could not have been more surprised. It has been an adventure, being a mother to this child of mine.  She is an unexpected blessing, a constant reminder that I am not alone in this world.  From the very first, she has been impossible to ignore, and even now, all these years later, she is never more than a text away.  She is rarely far from my thoughts, as she has wormed her way into my head and heart in a way that no one else could.  She is my child, to be sure, but she is also my friend, my partner, my team mate in life.  We have been through a lot together, she and I, and we are bound in our experience forever.  If I had to have a partner in that life, I am glad it was she.

Mothers and Daughters and Sons, Oh My!

When I was pregnant with my second child, I already had a lively and highly inquisitive five year old on hand. It came as quite a shock, this second chance at the whole parenting adventure.  I had endured several miscarriages, and the pregnancy itself was very high risk and fraught with set backs.  So I cannot lie - the thought of another child was a bit overwhelming.

Maybe Fairy Tales DO come true!

For years I have said that if God has someone in mind for me, then he will bring the guy through the door and drop him in my lap.  Obviously, I never really thought that would happen.  Fooled me!

After a lifetime of knowing each other, and coming up on a year of dating, this past weekend my own version of Prince Charming asked me to marry him.  Obviously, not being a fool, I said yes!  What a long and winding road it has been, getting to this place I never dreamed I would inhabit.  But here I am, and I couldn't be more happy.  Or surprised.

The long and winding road...

I think most people look forward to the point in their lives when they are settled, when life is fairly set, when they can be in their comfortable groove and know what to expect from the day to day.  They have their home, their job, their family, their routine - everything is in its place, and they can relax and move through the days and weeks without much thought or effort.  Its not that we, as humans, want our lives to be ordinary, per se.  But it is comforting to know what is coming, to feel we have a handle on the future.

But here's the thing.  At 52, I have finally learned that moment will never really come.  Just when you think your life is set, something will come along and upset the apple cart.  And although it can be hard at the time, in retrospect, it is often those very moments of change that make life most interesting and worthwhile.