Time
What is time really? Who started keeping track of it, and why? I remember reading something about this once upon a time a while back, but now I cannot remember just who it was that said it. Did they have extra "time" on their hands to do nothing but wax philosophical? Probably. It was possibly someone who did not have work assigned to them, were very wealthy, or maybe they were just Dreamers who gazed out the door in awe of nature and all it had to behold. I also remember being told or talked about saying "She has her head in the clouds", or "I always catch her daydreaming often". Or maybe people were looking up at the stars and thinking of ways to try to slow things down so they could stare forever and just take more time to breathe. You have to admit, that would be a great job to have. Remember when you were a child, reclining on the grass and just looking up? Oh, I do miss those days! I often think of that little man on the Star Gazer show who walked down the Milky Way describing where the stars were located and how the earth was turning and all the little details about it. I also have to admit that when I did watch that show, I tended to wander off before he was all done describing so much that I did not understand. When you are little, you don't have time to sit still! It also bored me to no end because I did not see my world in the vast galaxy the way he seemed to do. Now give me a Puppy and a hammock or lawn chair, that I could understand! Or sitting beside a hot roaring marsh mellow melting camp side fire, pure bliss. Or fishing or just sitting beside the stream or lake or walking alongside the ocean....phew, Heaven on earth! No car noises, tooting horns, Trains passing, Trucks rumbling like a storm going by. Just the sound of the birds in Spring or the brook bubbling as it rushes downstream. That I could get into.
Not so much the hows or why, just the plain old ordinary enjoying of it, that is time to me. People ask: "What's your favorite "time" of the year?" Humm.....It is really difficult for me to think that through long enough to decide. They all have their good points and bad points. Right now I would choose Spring because that is the time of year where we are right now. The smell of the muddy dirt now that the snow is fast melting away. The way the garden looks when the green of the grass starts poking up to peek at each new day. The Promise of a new season, the rain washing the yucky dirt away. The trees will soon begin budding. The Robins are sing sing singing away. The Morning doves cooing. Soon the birds will reveal eggs and the blue speckled round balls will also promise new life. Then there is Hot, murky, muddy Summer. If I had to choose my least favorite time of the year, Summer would be it. Too hot, buggy, and miserable outside to enjoy. Staying inside becomes the way I spend time in summer. Fall, sigh. Fall is my second favorite season I think. The crops are in, all the garden goodies are saved and processed for the year. This will be our first summer without a garden. It will seem strange not having the wonderful food they bring, but this year at our ages, we decided it was just going to be more work than we wanted to handle. Niether of us get up or down easily anymore, and the good old blood pressure lets us know when we have overdone things. In the Fall, the leaves turn golden yellow and red, beautiful. The smell of them burning after the raking is done. That musty smell of the crackling smoke and the warmth of the heat from the fire is wonderful. It makes me wonder why we don't burn wood in our fire pit much either. This time of the year is really the best time to ride bikes around the lake. The bike paths are not as crowded, and the lake sparkles.
The trip to the Apple orchard for the fall fling is always something fun. We have our own apples to process, but we still like to go and take the kids and grandchildren along. We watch as their eyes get big when they see all the sacks of apples, and how many different kinds there are to choose from. Smiles are many.
Before you know it, good old time brings on the winter. The cold, wet, blustery weather nips at the noses and toesies of us all. The leaves are falling and evenings shorten over the time of these days. Then that first snow falls and covers everything with a white flouncy puffy layer. Kids giggle as they get ready to go out in the new landscape. The sleds come out, and trips are now to the hills nearby. The strange looks your family give you when you get out the socks to put on their hands! My mother first showed me this little trick when I was going out sledding or making snowmen. That way, "gloves" can be changed quickly and often to keep the hands warm and dry.
I think the reason I notice time quickening now is that my Children are older and my Grandchildren are now doing the things we did with our own kids and we are watching them get taller and smarter and even cuter with each passing day. I noticed time moving on every time I went to visit my Dad, too. He was 91 years young. Dad got frailer, bent over, and repeated a few things quite often. He has passed away as of this update. His health went downhill fast and poof, he was gone. He was such a wonderful man and we all adored him and loved him and loved him some more because we realized just how lucky we were to still have him with us and in pretty darned good shape for that age. Of course the thing that shows me time passing the most often is that look in the mirror and the wondering, "who is that?" I actually startle myself every so often, lol. Of course feeling the loss of him brings back the loss of others in our family for whom time had run out.
I don't really know who or why Time or clocks were first invented. I only know how the passing of it changes and molds us all. I don't regret it, I sometimes envy it, but I will never forget it.
Just remember to take the time, one way or another, to spend "time" wisely. We each only get so much of it! Time for me to go do something timely. (probably watch a movie or take a nap)
Good Day. Take your time reading this, wink!
First written March 7, 2016. Updated April 30, 2017
