How did it get to be August 6th? How did it get to be 2010? What happened to 2000-2009?
The speeding up of time is in direct proportion to age. The older we get, the faster time goes. No one can convince me that time is consistent, always the same. At 5 years old, 3 minutes in time out feels like an eternity. At 50 years old, a year seems like 3 minutes. My children are 30, 29 and 23 years old. How did that happen? I know by the time many woman are my age they are grandmothers many times over. But I feel unready...for grandchildren...for adult children. 54 years on this earth...unbelievable!
I remember, as a young mother, often alone with small kids, wishing for the weekend, or the day when their father gets home from deployment. Wishing it were bedtime, wishing it was Summer, etc. Always wishing time away. Even then I remember thinking one day I will rue the day I wished my life away. We all know it is fleeting. We all know we are not long for this world. What we don't understand when we are young, is that one day we will look back on a life (hopefully well lived) and wonder where it went and how did it all go so fast.
That, my dear friends is the true sign of age. When we realize that we are mortal and want to hold on to every second forever.
I stood off to the side of the dance floor at my daughter's recent wedding reception. I knew it was all happening so fast. I took a moment to watch and take it all in. I wanted to capture this moment in time, to savor it, to keep it. I realized that we have a finite number of these special times. I knew I needed to treasure each moment, to hold sacred each child. I know I need to cherish every day, every hug, kiss ,visit. I understand better now why my,mother, in the last years of her life would keep me on the phone for hours. I get it now. She wanted to spend time with me, even if we could not be together. She knew the importance of time. We have just a limited amount of it. We must learn to use it wisely.
Time with family, friends is always well spent.
Time is like money, it should not be wasted, but used well. Time well spent, will make us rich indeed.
