The Elasticity of Time

The last weeks have treated me to a lesson in how differently we see time in different stages and experiences of life. Remember being a child and waiting for something that you wanted pretty badly to happen? The wait was endless. For some kids, waiting for Christmas or Chanukah or a birthday makes time creep along like the slowest snail on the team; for me it was waiting for the first day of school. It was the day I wanted more than anything else, and since it came generally the week after my birthday, it was a double waiting whammy. In our house, by the time I realized that I was the only kid left behind when the others went off to school, I figured that school must be some terrific place. When finally my family moved to our own place (we had been living in a multiple family home) I was ready for kindergarten and that was just fine with me. I loved school and could hardly wait for the end of weekends, and later the end of summer. When we were older, we waited for what? We waited for summer to begin, we waited to be asked on dates, we waited for graduations and milestones, and we waited for love. Some of our waits were open ended, like waiting for love, and some had a time stamp, or an expiration date. If we had no date for the prom, well, it wasn’t really the tragedy that we felt it was at the time. But the expiration date took away the pain until the next occasion that we wanted to go to and needed to be asked. (You can tell this was prior to the freedom of girls doing the asking) The time stamped waits were for parties, the end of the school year, graduation, and later, weddings and pregnancies. It only seemed like the period of gestation for a human being was two or more years. The same nine months, give or take a week, applied to everyone. As we mature, the waits become quite a bit more profound, and not easier, and while some seem to stretch time beyond imagining, and others seem to shrink it, the same sixty minutes pass by every hour, and the same 24 hours every day. Waiting to hear the doctor’s pronouncement on your sick child’s status makes the clock seem to be stuck in molasses, and knowing that death lies close by our sick parent reminds us of all the things we meant to say and didn’t take the time. Same 24/7, but couldn’t be more different. Each of us experiences crises and high points, thrills and chills as they say in the movies, and feels them differently. I have been reminded in the last couple of weeks to slow down and appreciate, and to hurry up and get things done. I have kicked myself for wasting time watching TV, and thoroughly enjoyed myself teaching a class to sassy 7th graders to remind them that they must take up the reins to be witnesses to history. I have, as we always do, reminded myself that this is only February, and I have already let some of my resolutions take a back seat to my busy-ness. So while time seems to be crunching up when you are paying attention to getting those taxes In to the accountant, filling out the forms that they need at your child’s school, and paying your bills, don’t forget to put “you” on the list, and let the elasticity of time stretch out so that you can read a couple of those magazines you love that are getting stacked up in the corner, don’t forget to stretch the time you spend hugging your kid or your dog, or making the acquaintance of the elderly couple that walk in the park at the same time you do. It’s all time well spent.