Sunday, July 11, 2004

Time Flies when….

I went to visit my brother and his significant other yesterday, and we spent a delightful afternoon strolling down memory lane. Stopping here and there to linger over memories of our children’s weddings and share pictures and stories from each event. We sauntered along paths littered with stories of our present lives and peered down tree lined corridors along the way that we might take in the near future: possible retirement at the end of one; job changes involving a move to another country sitting at the end of another; and a health crisis lurking in a dark distant third corridor.

Eight hours after we had arrived, I looked at my watch and was astonished to see the time. Was it really 9pm? It seemed like we had only been there a couple of hours and I didn’t want to leave, but we had a long drive back to our home, so we had to start making tracks. We left at 10pm amidst hugs and promises to get together next month and pick up where we had left off.

We are only an hours' drive down the road, but in these busy times with hectic schedules it might as well be the other side of the ocean. We each spin in our own worlds promising to get together, but time moves forward at the speed of light and days become weeks, weeks months and months years!!!!! Email keeps us in contact, but there is nothing quite like a face to face chat and a real hug instead of a cyber one.

Time flies, when you are having fun and when you are busy, but we must clip its wings periodically and make it sit still long enough to stop the blur, so we can see clearly the faces of those most important to us. What a priceless gift,to look into their eyes and see the hopes and dreams and stories there. I looked into my brother’s eyes yesterday and saw my dad there. I saw our shared childhood there. I saw my brother’s kind and gentle spirit there and I rejoiced that we had made time sit still on that summer afternoon, long enough for us to see each other. Even though the afternoon galloped forward and flew by at the speed of light, we were motionless in the eye of the whirlwind and saw each other.

What a priceless treasure.

2 comments:

silverly said...

Didn't realise genuinely happy people really exist... or do they? You love to write, but I keep thinking, when is she going to actually tell me something?
Good luck
Nick

Anvilcloud said...

You tell me something in every blog. Today you reminded us that we need to take time and/or make time. That's about all we have in this world, and precious little of it, so we may as well use it well.