As I get older I am so much more aware of how quickly time is passing by. My mother used to warn me about that, when I used to pester her every day in December asking if it was Christmas yet, because it seemed like it would never arrive! Or think of those car trips … “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Now it is crazy how fast the years go by. I really see the passage of time when I look at my nieces and nephew, or other people’s children. How is it that this little child, who was just in diapers, is graduating college or having children of their own? I sometimes wish life had a pause button and we could just stop the scene and take it all in before hitting PLAY and watching the chaos unfold again.

Time is often referred to as a healer or as some type of deity, as if it will provide all the answers eventually. People are told that time heals all wounds, or when someone is pondering something, they are told to “give it time.” There is value in both thoughts. I have had situations where I was undecided about what to do so I “gave it time” and sure enough, I received some clarity which helped me make a decision. I tend to be a bit of a compulsive person, so giving things time does help to reel in those impulses to act immediately. The theory of waiting can work in reverse too. Sometimes if we take too long to make a decision the opportunity might be gone and we have lost out. Time is finicky. It is like an avocado; you have to gauge when it is at its finest in order to reap the benefits. Act too soon and you might have had a better result if you’d waited a day or two. But wait too long and the chance you have been waiting for may have turned to mush.

Does time heal all wounds? I am not sure if heal is the right word. I believe time softens things, and makes them more bearable. If you lose someone you loved I don’t think you ever get over them. You just learn to live with it and go on. Time helps with that but it doesn’t cure the ache, it just makes it a little duller each year.

But more often than not, time just seems to take away from us. For most of us, it takes our looks, it takes our strength and health, and in some unfortunate cases it takes our memories. I wrote about this in my poem The Weight of Memories, also from “Scatter Seeds of Kindness”. I suppose if it wasn’t for time we would not have those memories to reflect back on and see how wonderful our life has been. People who are battling a terminal illness would give anything for more time, and their loved ones would give anything for more time with them. As much as we try to not be so obsessed with time, how can we not be? It impacts every aspect of our life. As the saying goes, “The days are long, but the years are short.”

Time – The Great Stealer

When my father passed away one night
My mother cried and cried
About all the things they never did or saw
before he died.

“There wasn’t time to do it all”
I’d often hear her fret;
“He’s gone too soon, I need more time
It can’t be over yet.”

Tick Tock Tick Tock, we are obsessed
With those numbers on the dial.
The calendar we flip from month to month
in some denial.

We deny how fast it’s slipping by
As snow melts into rain. W
e cut the grass, kids trick or treat,
It’s snowing once again.

Fast forward thirty years or so,
The kids are grown and gone.
My mother’s life is near its end
It doesn’t seem that long …

Since she cooked for us, and cared for us
And sent us off to school.
Damn time, it rears its head again;
It really is quite cruel.

Fast forward just a few more months,
A rainy, dreary day;
I laid in bed and held her hand
As she slowly slipped away.

I saw the nurse checking her watch
To call the time of death.
“Damn time, you stole from me again”
I said under my breath.

Perhaps I need a change of heart,
For time can be a healer.
But as I watch the years slip right on by
It just seems like a stealer.

I know I should be grateful
for all the time we get.
But still I think, it’s gone too fast,
It can’t be over yet.