When the tide is low and rushing of the waves dies down,
When all is still and I am left quietly to ponder,
I might sit still and in silence alone
I may dream of my future and wonder
Will I always return to the ways of the sea?
With its constant lull yet relentless change
Will it always seem to call to me?
So steady and yet so unpredictable
So calm but never resting
Always seeking new voyages
And rushing about to every distant land
Aching for the thrill of a new adventure
I look back on the past its seen
It seems to sing to me like a symphony
So many different parts all put together in one

From birdseed, butterfly nets, hibiscus, kimonos, siamese, and cancer,
Citrus, pepper, apples, grapefruit and figs, Saturday morning doughntus and groceries,
The riding helmet and whip, mickey mouse and vinegar, dalmatians, swimming and cheerleading,
Charlie, Jack and Jimmy, the forest and the ditch at the bottom of the hill
Dove handsoap, the toy closet under the stairs, piano basket,
Kool-aid concoctions, morning runs with dad, oatmeal versus pancakes,
Cornflakes, chex mix and homemade bread, soccer practice,
orange shoes and the smell of window paint,
Rocking chair, typhoons and rocks in the rain
The little plants that close till the next morning when you touch them
Windsocks, bug bottles, dolphins and Ranger Rick
Austronauts, bike traffic lessons, be strong like a Marine,
Mellow your jello and kindness comes first
4-H and goat milk, holiday turkeys and the concrete pond
Stolen mailbox and phonebook in the wall
Star Trek, silkworms and the exercise room,
Computer typing class and counselor visits
Goodbye on a motorcycle and no Simpsons allowed
Long commute and unhappy reunions, work trips to faraway places,
Divorce and child support, custody hearings and more court papers
Baby brother and dragon vases, trolls and the magic flute,
Broccoli instead of chicken, way too much salt, loud alarm clock,
Falling out of bed, plastic bedsheets and the big bookshelf
Cats, cockroaches and hummingbirds
Chore charts and homeschooling, work before play,
Too much cinnamon sugar, clean the litterbox, solitaire,
Pulling weeds and raking leaves, first snow,
Reactive attachment disorder, ADD, lazy and slow,
WIC and the bishop's storehouse, christmas on the doorstep,
Three a.m. paper route, training wheels, french horn,
Mascara in art class, busy halls, first crush and moving truck again,
New red overalls, perm and an older sister,
He looks like an elf and late babysitting
Two bedroom apartment, rice milk, vegetarian,
Prezels, frozen yogurt, keyboard, and ice skating
Valentine's day drawing contest and baby formula
Loading the dishwasher explaining Randy to dad
Wierd boy with a smelly, bouncy egg for science project
Explaining bubbles, barbies and Notre Dame,
A pocket knife, heels, and the springtime dress,
Bubblegum on the carpet, stuck in the door frame,
Wintergreen mints with speckles and toast with jam
A bite out of the wax apple and too much cheese and candy
Grape flavored dinatap and dramamine
Logan temple, trampoline, Raine, and lame lock on the back door
sprinklers and athids, biting lady bugs and work and the glory
basement mushrooms, ant infestation and hobo city in chalk
Goodbye Hershey, hello Dusty, Equinox, Amway and Mary Kay
rollerblading with too much protective wear,
another wedding ring and asking me permission
B.C. and A.D., Pokemon cards and nylons,
Fishing and roadtrips, camping and eating weeds, nails in the stump
Casinos, bright lights, ironing board and disliking new ward
Another new start, more house hunting and dreaming of this place
Passing out flyers, adopting a park,
food storage and big white wheat buckets
Beautiful boy two doors down but I'm too shy to say hi
Spanish and track, new spikes and obsession with running that won't go away
Cross country meets, Rancho San Rafael, air balloon races,
Hot August nights and babysitting, marching band
My best friend's dad and my mom,
rides to seminary and giving away a book of mormon
the super stars and finding my place
Chemistry C and elfish notes in class
Power jam, 7-11 slurpees, ice and tape
Red head jokes and jealous girls, constant competition,
Rejected rose, jolly ranchers in science, talk radio
pepperspray and watching the twin towers come down
A baptism and a marriage, so no state competition
Migraines, water, mormon crickets and beef stew.
First date, car on ebay, Burger King and new house
The twins and lipsinc, tap dance and jail in the middle of the night
Three new, minus two, sharing the neighbor's house, a boyfriend or two
Adopt-a-Bear, hermit crabs with painted shells,
Moving out on my own, another new job, Napoleon Dynamite
Autism, self sufficiency, tutoring, homeless and silent movie
Real friut popsicles and hot chocolate, Weezer and artsy shops downtown
Dancing pizza and T-team fun in the dorms, community college and new car,
Boyfriend that lasts longer than two weeks and seems so right,
Brazil, outdoor ice rink, football games and four wheeling
Christmas tree hunting and the tree room, earrings and our song,
Big blue hoodie, new apartment, Rascal and Trinket, basketball in the park
Institute dances and friends getting married, trip to Cali, pink board shorts
Visiting Fernley, getting pulled over, the Matrix and Cleanflix
Long prayers, clutch goes out and life takes a big turn.
Tennessee and humidity, mission papers and spanish,
Country music and different rules and lifestyle, oh so proper,
daycare and a sense of ever waiting
year and a half of milanesa, cumbia, el viento sonda, la difunta correa,
la sequia, el colectivo, himnos y tantas oraciones
companions and p days, alfajores and polenta, obedience service and love
suddenly I'm home again, back to the west, new school, new friends, new life,
boyfriend off and on again, Zupas, MTC, mentoring, and the temple
motorcycles, fast cars, drums and planes,
Saturday hikes, bike rides, swim lessons, violin lessons, running and pranks
Hospital visits, art days, singing at the old folks homes
Duck pond, art museum, concerts, efy, languages
Walking musical, saturday yard work, homemade tomato soup and yard sales
Weather change, itching for a change, new apartment and good bye to friends and boyfriend
Unfriendly girls in church, FHE and ward prayer hesitance, continued job hunt
At last new job comes through, family seems to work out better,
Things might finally be going right, other things just don't make any sense.
But then, thus is life, the list will only continue to grow over the years.
La vie est belle