Tempus Fugitive

Something I’ve noticed as I get older is how much faster time seems to pass by.  I can remember the four years of high school and then college and how long a period of time that seemed.  One of the reasons I joined the Army was that I could not bear the thought of a whole three years more of law school.  That seems ludicrous now although I’m sure I made a better soldier than I would have a lawyer.  Time just seems to have accelerated – it feels (almost) like yesterday that I was a young guy with two small kids.  Now those “kids” are closer to thirty than to twenty and I’m left trying to figure out where all the time went.  I assume, at my current age, I’ve got at least fifteen good years left and that’s kind of scary with the way time seems to have sped up.  I think this phenomena occurs because as you get older you fall into more consistent rhythms and routines which causes the days to kind of run together.  This isn’t an “Oh Woe is Me!” declaration, merely an observation.  I’m generally pleased with what I’ve done in my life.  I’m married to the love of my life, I’ve got the two very best children a father could hope for, I’ve seen most of the world, been in a movie, met one of America’s great presidents in the Oval Office, and excelled at a profession that I truly loved.  I’m happy to see both of my children making the most of their youth – getting out and seeing the world and experiencing life.  I think that’s one of the most important lessons a parent can pass on – an appreciation of life and not to waste it.  While faced with the implacable march of time I’m not going to sit back and watch.  I’m finding that you can slow that stride by simply looking around and savoring what life has to offer; find those special moments that are all around us every day.  It’s, in a way, re-discovering the wonder of youth when almost everything was a new experience.