Thought I knew my mind like the back of my hand,
The gold and the rainbow,
but nothing panned out as I planned.
And they say only milk and honey’s gonna make your soul satisfied!
Well I better learn how to swim
Cause the crossing is chilly and wide.

Twisted guardrail on the highway, broken glass on the cement
A ghost of someone’s tragedy
How recklessly my time has been spent.
And they say that it’s never too late, but you don’t get any younger!
Well I better learn how to starve the emptiness
And feed the hunger

Up on the watershed, standing at the fork in the road
You can stand there and agonize
Till your agony’s your heaviest load.
You’ll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile.
When you’re learning to face the path at your pace
Every choice is worth your while.

Well there’s always retrospect to light a clearer path
Every five years or so I look back on my life
And I have a good laugh.
You start at the top, go full circle round
Catch a breeze, take a spill
But ending up where I started again makes me wanna stand still.

Up on the watershed, standing at the fork in the road
You can stand there and agonize
Till your agony’s your heaviest load.
You’ll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile.
When you’re learning to face the path at your pace
Every choice is worth your while.

Stepping on a crack, breaking up and looking back
Every tree limb overhead just seems to sit and wait.
Until every step you take becomes a twist of fate.

Up on the watershed, standing at the fork in the road
You can stand there and agonize
Till your agony’s your heaviest load.
You’ll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile.
When you’re learning to face the path at your pace
Every choice is worth your while.

—Emily Saliers

I had never really listened closely to the lyrics until this week. I knew of the Indigo Girls back in high school, but was more of a hard rock/metal fan back then (with some country for variety!) There’s no way I could have appreciated it at 16 anyway. It kind of sums up my early thirties though.

Below is their performance on the Tonight Show in 1991. Worth it to see Jay Leno with dark hair, if for nothing else!

In keeping with this week’s theme of photos from years past I wanted to include one from me from 1991. I can’t find any though, so this high school graduation from 1992 will have to do. My sister Michelle is with me.