Thursday, August 28, 2008

My, my...time flies

Time is a funny thing. We have it all segmented out - down to the milisecond. Just think of Michael Phelps winning a close race at the Olympics! How strange then that the passage of time can feel so very different for different people, or even dependent on what's happening in our life.
Remember when you sat in class, waiting for the bell to ring? Five minutes felt like forever. Now that I'm 50, I blink and the week is over.

I was reading my friend Jen's baby site for her son Austin, who just turned 2 yesterday. His birthday is a wonderful event, but it also reminds us of the unexpected death of his sweet father, Thomas, 2 years ago on 8/19. I cannot imagine how the time has passed for Jen. When I think of Jen and Thomas, I see his sweet smile in a picture I took of them before their wedding. I think of the wedding itself, almost flooded out due to some particularly wet Florida June weather - but soooo beautiful. I see Jen and Thomas dancing in the courtyard after the rain had stopped. It seems like yesterday, but in fact was 5 years ago. Time flies indeed.

I look at my own sweet boys. Joel at 26, a married, working man. I still picture him at 7 years old, laughing and clowning for the camera, his little Polk County southern accent saying, "Daaiddy!" The Polk County accent is gone, replaced by the generic Manatee County non-specific only slightly southern drawl. He no longer calls Dad "Daddy", but he will still ham it up for the camera on occasion. And then there is my baby, Josh. Now almost 12, and he outweighs me by 50 lbs. Where is that baby that I carried? Seems like it was just yesterday and I was feeling the Bug move around inside me. Now he's starting 6th grade, dreaming of the car he will buy someday, telling me he likes brunettes more than blondes....AAAAAH!!

Well, regardless of how time is flying, the best thing we can do is to live in the moment. We can't change what's passed, and tomorrow may or may not come. So NOW is what we have and what we should live in. I've been thinking lately about that. About why we save the good china for "special occasions" and why we put things off til we are thinner or more financially secure. I don't want to waste today, dreaming about a tomorrow that may never come. I want to enjoy today, and live it to its fullest. Clean my house like company's coming, fix my husband's favorite foods, wear a dress once in a while instead of jeans, take a drive just to look at the mountains, burn the candles I bought that smell so good, wash my body with that homemade soap, go to lunch with my friends, tell someone how much I love and appreciate them, do it now - not tomorrow!!!

I need to stop now, so I can enjoy today. You have a good one too.

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