Why Bother Noticing the Time?

Back in the 1970s, when I was in high school, there were more than a few songs on the radio that referred to time passages. “Time keeps on slippin into the future,” and “Seasons change and so did I,” are some of the lyrics to the songs I remember. Yet, as a teenager, those lyrics referring to time did not mean as much to me as they do today. Back then, it felt as though I had an infinite amount of time. Now, I know I don’t. 

                Time Flows Forward

Though time did not mean so much to me back then, it does today. Two important events occurred this month that caused me to pause and reflect on the fact of how time passes flawlessly, smoothly, and continuously. 

First, one of my favorite nephews turned forty. Turning forty is in my rear view mirror, but it was not for my nephew. And he, like me, never really fathomed living to be that “old”. Now he has lived to be as old as his auntie once was. 

I did not tell him that I remember wiping his nose, reprimanding him for his bad attitude or wondering when he’d ever “grow up.”  Instead, I just wished him a happy birthday knowing what it is like to turn forty. 

The second event that seemed benign yet momentous was that I watched my grandson play football in our town’s stadium. I sat in the grandstand with my oldest son watching his son play ball. At the same time,  I reminisced about the games my husband and I had watched in the same grandstands when our son was just a babe bundled in blankets. It was a surreal moment. 

Time does flow and though we cannot stop the clock, replay life in slow motion, or edit our mistakes we can choose how to live our lives in such a way that when we do look back, we can see how much we’ve changed, for the better. 

Time, along with experience, has taught me the value of the moments we do have. Contentment, rich relationships, and commitment are lessons we can’t learn in a hurry, but only through the ages of time. 

Why bother noticing time? Time keeps on slippin, we can’t save time in a bottle, seasons change and so do we. Hopefully, for the better.