Before/After

We all have before stories 
The ones we wistfully share
Before the divorce 
Before the diagnosis 
Before the kids
before, before, before
Does that define who you are now?
Does it inform everything about you?
How about the after?
Have you recovered?
Remarried?
Reimagined life as an empty nester?
Before and After
How did you process?
How did you proceed?
How will it shape you but not define you?
We can never go back to the before time, it’s a door that’s locked with no handle 
An impossible place to go, even though we long for it 
I’ve said this many times 
Life will happen to all of us
At some point we will all walk with a limp
And we all have a choice 
Your before might have been really good
But, the after is all yours to make
And it can be great 
Right here
Right now