About 14 years ago, I read an interesting little book (it was literally a little book!) called Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman, and it was composed of short stories that played with the notion of time.
I remember one story where a man kept being yanked out of the present and dropped in the past, which was maddening because he had to be careful not to mess with past events for fear of changing the future. If any of you watch LOST, like I religiously do (and I rarely watch TV), then you would love this book.Being at home with SoJo all day, it's almost like I can't wait until Mr. Geek gets home from work, just for a change of pace. But then I feel guilty that I just keep looking forward to another time of day, rather than fully experiencing the moment that is happening now. Again, I do try, but it doesn't always happen.
I frequently think of John Lennon's lyric "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." It seems like many of us are waiting for that time when our children are walking, or talking, or when they start school because it will be fun and they'll be out of our hair for part of the day, etc. Or thinking things like "if I can only make it through today, or to the weekend."
My thinking is this: Let's slow down, enjoy the moments we have with each other. Truly, they are the only things that exist, since both the past and future are really just in our minds. What do you think? Does time go by quickly or slowly for you, especially after you've had kids?
9 comments:
great post--i'm always thinking ahead, not trying to enjoy the moment. time just zooms by now that I have kids--they are going to 4 and 7 next month!
Excellent! Time goes by far too quickly with children. I remember thinking I would not survive the toddler/preschool years (twin toddlers and a preschooler). I look back and wish I had more time. I wish I would have let things slide a little more, been less rigid.
Here Kathleen, for you:
Babies Don't Keep
Mother, oh Mother,
come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan,
poison the moth,
hang out the washing
and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house
is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little
Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done
and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing
will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up,
as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep'
Author Unknown
I have a sister-in-law who doesn't seem to relax and enjoy ANYTHING in life. She has her life so scheduled to the minute that she's always worried about getting to that next commitment. I just think it's a complete shame. She's so high strung and tense.
Your post was wonderful!
I'm glad I'm not alone :) Some days just crawl by it seems, yet she's almost 9 months. I long for Mat to come home so I can be free!!! Yet, I'm not really free of anything, or once I am "free" I no longer want to be. I try oh so hard to relish every ounce, moment, and smile. Some days I fear I don't do such a good job at this.
One thing is for sure, I'm thankful to her, she's slowed me down SO much considering how I used to be.
I think when they're young, we're filled with anticipation so we just can't wait for what seems to take forever.
With each passing milestone, each year gone by, we have an accumulation of memories. Those memories have us looking back and so time escapes us.
Always looking ahead in anticipation or behind at memories, we forget about today.
It seems like time goes slowly during the day but it also goes too quickly for me to get all the things I want to accomplish done! And the kids are growing up too quickly, for sure.
Oh, this opens so many cans of worms. I am so thrilled to see progress, but then long for the good old days. Love that Lili is eating food, but wish we were back in the first days, confined to bed and snuggling and nursing round the clock.
Very interesting, I am going to have to track that down at the library. My time complaint is: every time I get into bed at night I feel like I was just there. I don't want to miss anything and I have moments where I think I am missing everything. Kids, business, BLOGS, just basic busyness is very distracting! Oh, YUK! :) I guess I better lay in bed tomorrow and watch movies with my kids! ha
To me things always seem so much slower in the winter. I even felt this way before we had our son.
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