Here is a theory I heard once that attempts to explain why time seemed to pass by so slowly when we were growing up and why it seems to fly by as we age: When we are young, things are changing all the time – school, friends, clothes sizes, what we learn about the world and ourselves. Just as we adjust to one thing, another thing happens. Then as we get older, a day-to-day sameness pattern develops in our lives. We don’t experience big changes nearly as often. We wake up one day and say, “Wow, it’s October 1st already. What happened to August?”
OK, maybe you don’t do that; but I did this morning. My closet is still full of short sleeve shirts, but for two weeks overnight lows have been in the 50s here and highs in the 70s. Labor Day was a month ago. Leaves are falling.
I have this sense that my life is racing by, even though life expectancy charts say I’ve got 30 more years and family genetics lead me to believe I could live see my 100th birthday. It’s two minutes into the 3rd quarter, I’m on the 50 yard line and I haven’t used any time outs, yet it feels like the stadium is already starting to empty out.
Guess I better finish raking the leaves before it’s time to put up the Christmas lights.
A Little Ditty
3 weeks ago
4 comments:
Christmas? Ugh, don't remind me.
Every year I tell my wife "I'm not hanging my ass out into the prevailing wind this year" - which means I don't want to climb onto the roof of our two-story house with the steep slope and slippery shingles and dangle icicle lights from the highest points.
And, without fail, every year I do exactly that.
AFLAC!!
Ian
I like the football metaphor. In the past I've sometimes thought of life more as a boxing match...in which I'm generally getting the crap beat out of me, but that's not nearly as poetic.
Ian, I feel your pain. At our previous house, I used to string lights up into a tree on the front lawn, on the day after Thanksgiving, during the first sleetfall of the season.
Drive-by, your boxing match metaphor dsecrobes an earlier part of my life too. Fortunately, I'm now more like an undersized QB in the first game of the season.
.. and obviously a QB who can't type either.
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