The Carousel of Time

I've always loved this Joni Mitchell song and it totally fits the occasion of my baby's 20th birthday. This is a milestone day. I no longer have any teenagers. Amazing,

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you're older, must appease her
And promises of someday make her dreams

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell her,
Take your time, it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

So the years spin by and now the girl is twenty
Though her dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game