When I was a freshman in college, I caught a ride home with a girl from my hometown who was a few years ahead of me in school. As this was in the time before smart phones and Candy Crush, we had to use basic social graces and entertain ourselves by talking. It was a two and a half hour trip, so our conversation covered a lot of ground, most of it being small talk. However, one thing she said has resonated with me over the years.
She told me, “Starting at this point in your life, every year will go by faster than the one before it until it’s almost like you blink and another year has passed.”
I thought to myself, “That’s a strange thing to say. I wonder if she’s high. Maybe I should be driving.”
Under the influence or not, she was right, so very right. Every year that has passed since that moment has gone faster than one preceding it. It might not feel like time is moving so swiftly during sucky things like the stomach flu, boring committee meetings, or waiting in line at the Walgreens at 2 A.M. to pay for infant Tylenol. But the big picture is kind of overwhelming. One minute I’m a freshman in college, full of angst about choosing the right major and trying to look twenty-one. I blink a few times and the next thing I know, I’m closer to 41 than 21 and fretting about the size of my 401K contribution while signing my kid up for karate.
With time moving forward like a runaway train, I find myself looking for more opportunities to stop and smell the proverbial roses. But it’s terribly difficult to slow down with our drink-all-the-Starbucks-so-you-can-keep-going-OMG-we’re-going-to-be-late-for-pilates-21st-century lifestyles. This makes me think we’re doing something wrong. Maybe all the Very Important Things we cram into our schedules are responsible for this crazy time warp phenomenon.
Perhaps if we slow down, time will too.
Whoa…Now who’s high?
Where Are Your Pants? 