When I was a young girl, it seemed that every person over the age of fifty constantly remarked how fast time was passing. I didn’t understand why they felt that way. I’d watch the clock in my classroom edge along at snail pace. I waited for the hands to strike 3 p.m. signaling the end of the school day so I could run home and watch Mickey Mouse Club on TV. I so looked forward to the weekends (they seemed to take forever to arrive!) because I spent them with my father. Every Sunday afternoon he’d take me to Kiddie Land where I’d get to eat cotton candy, ride the tiny Choo-Choo train, and sit in a boat that didn’t need to be steered because it just floated around in a circle! The three-month summer break from school seemed endless and by August I was actually anticipating going back to school. Waiting for Christmas to arrive was always almost unbearable! So what were these old people talking about? As far as I could tell, time didn’t go fast at all! Did you feel the same about time when you were young?
As I grew to become a busy adult working full-time and dealing with a multitude of daily minutiae, time did seem to pass a bit faster, but weekends still didn’t arrive soon enough. Unlike the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, I knew what weekends were and I really looked forward to them! Life was still a waiting game…a “wait and see” for what happens next week, next year, in ten years! There was so much time left!
Now, as I am traveling in what is referred to as “the Golden Years” (surely a misnomer as far as I’m concerned), I can hardly believe how rapidly time passes! I’m busier than ever and weeks fly by as if they were days! With the holiday season rapidly approaching, I haven’t found time to bead in weeks and resin projects have been languishing on my metalsmithing workbench in anticipation of becoming rings and bracelets and pendants! Never more than now have I felt that I need more hours in a day, more days in a week, more months in a year! In fact, I need another lifetime to accomplish all that I’d like! Yet, upon reflection, I am so thankful to be a person who is never bored, one that always has much to do and projects waiting in the wings!
What an excellent description of how we see or feel the passing of time. As a kid and then, teenager, time dragged. Now, I’m retired and it seems time flies by. The holidays are already here and as usual I’m not ready.
However, it is true, with beading and other crafting projects, I don’t get bored. Then, I celebrate each project at completion.
Thank you. May your Holidays be blessed.
Thank you, Karen! May we always appreciate and savor every day as a celebration!