REFLECTION

Have you ever stared into a mirror for sooo long that you don't recognize yourself any more? I have. Many times. Sometimes, when it comes to the point when I've stared for sooo long and I don't recognize myself, I ask my reflection questions (in my mind, of course). "Who are you? What are you like? Are you a good person? Why are your eyes shaped that way? Do you like who you are? Why is your nose like that? Why do you look different in this mirror and not the bathroom mirror?" Sure, it feels weird but when you see yourself as a different person, sometimes you can't help but feel curious about her. Sometimes I see a happy person, sometimes a sad one. But most of the time, I see a very thoughtful person. I see a woman who thinks about the future a lot, who thinks of her family, of what she has to offer the world. I see a person who looks beyond the post-partum belly, stretch marks and brown skin and searches deep into herself, into her very soul for the answers to the myriad questions flitting through her mind. I see a woman with a big heart, a warm embrace, tears that could fill ten oceans and more. She is a woman who is trapped in a mirror but cares deeply for the people she loves and for the world. Sometimes, when I catch her in a mirror, I give her a smile. Oftentimes she smiles back, other times she has that pensive look, the one that says: "I know you, you know me. We are alike." Sometimes, she echoes what I feel and other times she watches silently. But whether or not she appears in my reflection, I know in my heart that she is there, she knows me well and she listens.