Time is Fleeting. Spend it Wisely

Doesn’t life just seem to race by? We all know the expression, “take time to smell the roses”. My guess is that most of us never really do, which is sad. As I get older and I watch my kids grow up, I find myself wanting to spend more time enjoying life.

I find myself longing for time. There’s just never enough time; time to read a good book or take a walk in the park… time to catch tadpoles or search for salamanders under rocks…time to sit on the beach and listen to the waves lapping at the shore and seagulls squawking overhead.

Before we know it, our kids are grown and off to college. We turn around again and they are married with kids of their own. It seems the older we get, the faster time flies. …Which makes me realize just how precious our time really is.

Kids have a tendency to grow up before our eyes. Our parents and grandparents become gray and frail. Our time is consumed by work and errands, bills and worries. But the fact is we all have 24 hours in a day. It’s up to us how we choose to spend those hours.

So my suggestion is this. Step back and take a look at your schedule. Are you spending your precious time doing what you love with the people you love? My mom used to say, I don’t want my tombstone to say ‘she kept a clean house’. Life is short. Live it. Enjoy it. Spend time with the ones you love. She was a wise woman. She died young, but she spent her days with the people that mattered.

If you find that your time is consumed by things that don’t bring you joy or satisfaction, make a conscious effort to replace those activities with ones that do. Spend time with your kids at the beach or the park. Spend an afternoon in the hammock with your spouse watching the clouds float by. Stop by your grandmother’s house for a visit and a cup of tea.

Someday, you’ll be glad you did. I promise you, the dust-bunnies will reappear. The dirty dishes will multiply in the sink. The bathrooms will always need cleaning and the laundry will always be waiting for you. But time won’t wait. It will keep on marching by, thumbing its nose at you as it passes by, but only if you let it.

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
~Carl Sandburg