Mother Time doesn’t offer do-overs

Every week, as I open my “Sentinel” file and stare at the empty screen with just the date in the top left corner, I think of the saying, “Time sure flies when you’re having fun.” In my world, it also flies when I’m not having fun. It just plainly flies.

Time is an odd, curious phenomenon. We lose an hour and gain an hour with daylight savings time, but would we notice if we didn’t have clocks? The sun rises and sets the same no matter what we earthlings choose.

Time is confusing because my days can be SO long, even when busy. But then, here it is, April 10th, and I need help understanding how long days equate to mini months and flash years. Don’t forget, there are only 258 shopping days until Christmas—yes, Christmas 2024. The next time I turn around, it will be Labor Day.

Time is real, and we know Mother Time doesn’t offer do-overs. She might cut short our healthy, wealthy, or wise time on this earth, but she never gives it back once it’s gone. Never.

So, what are you doing with your time? Today, we all have 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. It’s the same thing tomorrow, the next day, and the next. How wonderful it is to have endless and dependable time. No matter what, we are guaranteed, if we don’t die first, to have that much time every day; it’s no wonder we take it for granted. We don’t earn it, we can’t accumulate it like unused sick leave, and it earns no interest. We spend it or lose it—there is no saving time.

I may save time by buying garlic in little flat jars instead of peeling and dicing fresh cloves, but it’s like the money we save when buying something on sale. Where is the money we saved? Where is the time? Both have an essence of being abstract—we know the time and the money we saved on a bargain are real, but we can’t see them, fold them, stuff them in a jar, or feel them. It’s an invisible gift not wrapped with paper and bows.

It’s an illusion, like a mirage or a shadow in the trees.

We can save most things, such as clothes, knickknacks, cars, or pinecones, but we cannot save time.

I have not shared one thing today that you don’t already know. Sometimes, a reminder to appreciate and maximize the invisibles of life is helpful. Time is one of those things—we want it, need it, use it, waste it, lose it, yet miss it when it is gone.

Closing with a quote from Robert Orben, an American professional comedy writer and magician: “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.”

Until the next time: Live while you live.

Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.