Apologies to Steven Page...

...for stealing his title. For those of you who don't know, Mr. Page wrote and performed a song titled Wilted Rose as part of his solo effort The Vanity Project. While the song's lyrics contemplate the political landscape, the title means something a bit different for me.

These days I'm the one feeling like a wilted rose - the bloom of youth has left me, yet there are still glimpses of the potential that was once there. I'm no longer the ingenue with all the potential of a wide open life ahead of me, yet I'm not in the winter of my life (as far as I know). If you squint hard enough, you can still see the beauty (figuratively speaking) that once was.

Lest you think this blog is some sort of downer pity party, my intention is for it to be something far different. While this rose is wilted, it still has worth. You can still tell it's a rose, and still appreciate it as such. The wilted roses are the ones that get pressed into scrapbooks, the ones that signify experience and memories. The wilt represents the weight of time's passing and the gaining of experience. So, yes - I AM a wilted rose. And proud of it.