I have had my time on earth pleasing others, raising children, being who Mama and Daddy wanted me to be. I have done all the “right” things. I have more degrees than a thermometer. I have mingled with all the right people. I have been rich. I have been poverty stricken. I have been loved. I have been hated. I have been at the top. I have been at the bottom. I have been through many rites of passage.

Now it is my time...

I plan to crash into my silver years with a noise that will be heard all over Columbia and parts of the world. I am going to completely change everything about me....my name, my face, my hair color, my body, my life story....and anything else I can think of. And when I am at the Silver Resort rocking in my chair on the front porch, I will be able to tell stories no one before me has ever told. And tongues will wag for years about that silver–haired woman named Sheeva.

Finally, the kids are grown; the parents are gone. I am free to be me. And I won’t only wear purple. I will wear jewels, feathers, and diamonds. I will climb mountains, travel on yachts to far away lands, drink the best wines with kings and queens, and drive golf balls farther than Tiger Woods. I will dive with stingrays, swim with dolphins, and canoe the most dangerous rapids. And you, my dear readers, will hear all about it.

During the next weeks, you will watch me emerge from my cocoon into an unbelievable silver butterfly. Look for the unveiling, and come flit with me on my incredible journey.

Editors’ note: Sheeva wants to hear about your metamorphosis. Write her at mimim@sc.rr.com