The spark, an act of passion.
Awkward consequences.
[The wheel begins to turn]
A swollen belly, full of possibilities.
Weight gain and sickness.
[The first spoke of the wheel]
Nine months, anguished cries of pain.
A bloodstained sheet.
[The second spoke of the wheel]
First feeding, child’s squalling.
Relief from suffering.
[The third spoke of the wheel]
First steps, first words.
Delighted parents.
[The fourth spoke of the wheel]
Great acceleration in growth, harried parents.
Defiance and self-definition.
[The fifth spoke of the wheel]
First day of school, tears of worry and joy.
The next stage of life.
[The sixth spoke of the wheel]
First friends, art projects.
Pride can be a parent’s down fall.
[The seventh spoke of the wheel]
Middle school, changes begin.
Wary parents watch attentively.
[The eighth spoke of the wheel]
First romantic friend, clandestine experimentation.
Parents frustrated with their child’s choices.
[The ninth spoke of the wheel]
High school, a proving ground reached.
Conflict begins to grow more frequent.
[The tenth spoke of the wheel]
Senior year, the stress begins to take its toll.
Preparations for the next stages are underway.
[The eleventh spoke of the wheel]
College life, freedom at last.
The weight of responsibility is heavy.
[The twelfth spoke of the wheel]
Graduation day, celebration with family and friends.
Welcome to the real world.
[The thirteenth spoke of the wheel]
A career, an apartment and work.
Work hard to pay the bills.
[The fourteenth spoke of the wheel]
A wife, married life.
No one is ready to have children, but they do anyway.
[The fifteenth spoke of the wheel]
Time seems to speed up now, years passing in moments.
Time flies when we are having fun, or so they say.
[The sixteenth spoke of the wheel]
Middle age, children growing up.
Joints ache with arthritis, old age is on the way.
[The seventeenth spoke of the wheel]
Children are grown now, where has the time gone?
Grandchildren on the way, life has been a grand journey.
[The eighteenth spoke of the wheel]
Old age has made its home in the bones, health deteriorating.
Laugh lines crease the face and a smile is never far from the lips.
[The nineteenth spoke of the wheel]
Colors fade to gold, and the final days are here.
Laughter, love and family.

[The twentieth spoke of the wheel]
End of the journey, the last breath taken.
Flowers on the gravestone, gone but not forgotten.
[The Wheel comes to a stop]