Wow! Not that anyone else has missed me, but I sure have! It’s absolutely nuts that life and all its obligations have consumed me to the point that I haven’t had a chance to write since April!!! What the heck? I can honestly say that in the car of life, my gas pedal is stuck in the floored position. Time is racing like an engine winding out 4500 rpm’s (a little something for the guys – don’t want to be too frilly!).
Is it me, or does anyone else remember that throughout our childhood, adults always reminded us that time goes faster and faster as we age? In fact, Joni Mitchell sang about it in “The Circle Game:” …”so you tell him ‘take your time, it won’t be long now, til you drag your feet to slow the circles down.’” Holy Cow! I could have feet the size of Fred Flintstone’s, and I couldn’t drag them enough to slow down even a trip to the mailbox!
When I was a kid, I remember asking my parents to make plans for one thing or another – a trip to the beach or amusement park, a family cook-out, a night at the movies, or maybe a Red Sox game (because one could actually afford to buy tickets to bring the family to a game in the ’60’s). The answer would be “maybe next month,” or “in a few weeks,” or “maybe later in the summer.” My typical response was “What?!? THREE weeks? Next MONTH?!? Are you KIDDING me????? That’s gonna take forEVER!!!!”
Now, as an adult, when plans are being suggested, and someone says “maybe next month,” my reaction is pretty much the same, except the “That’s gonna take forever” part. “Next month?!? Are you kidding me?!? That’s sooo not enough time for me to get ready for that! How about the beginning of Fall?”
It’s all about perspective. Time floats by lackadaisically as a child, but it streaks by like a greased pig slipping down an Olympic Luge track when we’re adults. I sure wish I had the kind of time on my hands that I had as a child. If only we could capture it in a jar, along with trying to capture the smell of the ocean, or that first fresh scent of falling leaves. If only as adults, we could have that same perspective we had as children, as though life will go on forever, as opposed to feeling like we’re running out of time. But, it’s probably best we don’t. Feeling like we’re running out of time is what gets us doing the things we wasted so much time wishing we’d do.
But alas, we can only live in the moment, this moment. And maybe you feel your time could have been better spent reading the TV Guide, but nonetheless, I’m thankful for the time you’ve spent reading this. It shouldn’t have taken six months to write this post. But to put things in perspective: if you’re a child reading this, you may think I haven’t written in for EVER. But if you’re an adult, you know it’s really only been about 4 days.
5 comments
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October 14, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Ann
Thank you for taking the time to write this so that I could read it. 🙂
It made me smile because life changes – and it changes fast !!!
Somehow we loose the joy of picking a flower or playing with a grasshopper and not minding if we are late for dinner.
Those in the moment, moments are a treasure … sometimes we have to hunt for them like a treasure … 🙂
October 17, 2011 at 1:42 pm
jillpeters
Thanks Ann. Keep hunting for treasures! 🙂
October 15, 2011 at 12:32 am
Jackie
Hi Jill, Thanks for finally getting the time to write on your blog. I, as usual, truly enjoyed reading it. There is such truth in the difference on how we perceive time as a child versus an adult. A child sees things so much differently than we do. You bought me back to an earlier time, and a wonderful place. Thanks Jill!
October 17, 2011 at 1:43 pm
jillpeters
Hi Jackie, You deserve to be in a wonderful place! Glad to be a part of it – if only for a moment…
October 31, 2011 at 9:27 am
Robin Santos
Boy, can I relate to this!..
So much of the joy in life comes from learning to live in the moment. But, it’s hard to live in the moment when it only lasts a nanosecond because responsibility has the loudest voice in your head. I need to try Tai Chi….now, if I could only figure out how to fit a class into my schedule…