Stages in Life

There are 4 stages in life:

1. You believe in Santa Claus
2. You don't believe in Santa Claus
3. You are Santa Claus
4. You look like Santa Claus.

When I read this, it makes me laugh, but then there's another phase in life that I find very sad. In my pre-teen years, my mother was vital to me: I needed her like I needed air. Then in my teen years, I wished mother would disappear and stop being an embarrassment to me. But a few years down the road, mother and father started to make sense to me, I thought, they know what they're talking about after all. Fast forward to my 20's, and 30's ...I was now occupied with the path I have chosen. Life took me to another city, then to another continent and my parents became just voices over the phone. In my 40's they started dying--mentally and physically. The conversations started to become one way, and before I could put 2 and 2 together, they're all gone. And now in my 50's, I need my mom like I need air. I wish I could pick up the phone and talk to my mother. Or simply listen to her voice. But because I can't, I will try and carve a new path for me...whatever that might be.