A New Identity

It's official. The haggard woman on my government badge is now dead. She has been shredded and recycled. She looked old and tired and unhappy. She looked like she had lost her last friend.

Today I posed for my replacement badge picture, the one that will allow me to enter our new building next month. This photo features a woman who is sitting up straight with her shoulders back and head high. She is wearing makeup and has hair that is layered and slightly blown back. Most importantly she is smiling, obviously thinking about something other than going back to work.

I begged them to let me keep the old photo, just so I could remember the difference. But government regulation required that it be turned in, so she is forever gone. Maybe it's for the best that I will not be reminded of that time when I was just barely alive. I really love the woman on my new badge. She looks like she would be a good friend.