Three Months

Phil and I will be spending almost three months in Canada.  Three months is a long time to be gone, but we’ve learned to manage taking care of our business back home from a distance with the help of our children, my parents, and several friends.

It’s been harder for me to leave this year because of Madeline.  I also have a hard time leaving my aunt and uncle without a visit for a couple of months.  In both these cases three months is a long time because so many obvious changes take place in that short amount of time.  And I’m struck by the contrasts between the very young and the very old and what can happen at both ends of this time line of life in a short three months.

By the time I return Madeline may be walking on her own.  It is likely that my aunt and uncle will no longer be able to walk at the end of the summer.

Before I left I was able to feel Madeline’s two bottom front teeth coming in, and I’m sure she’ll have several more soon.  When I took my uncle to visit my aunt she said to him, “You’ve broken off a tooth, haven’t you?”

The last time I kept Madeline I took her out for a walk.  It was a bright sunny day, so after I put her in the stroller I put on a hat and sunglasses.  We walked along until we came to some shade.  To give her a little thrill I leaned the stroller way back and said, “Wheee!”  She took one look at me with my hat and sunglasses, and she began to cry inconsolably.  She didn’t know who I was.

I wonder if my Aunt Betty will know me when I return.  Maybe she, too, will not recognize me.

Will Madeline be feeding herself when I return?  Will Aunt Betty need to be fed by someone else?

Will Madeline know any words?  Will Ralph be able to talk  and communicate?

The comparisons could go on and on.  I will save you from further discussion of all the bodily functions we could talk about.

All in all, it’s still just three months.  Three months of time that we all have.  Like time-lapse photography, we are able to see the progression of time in the lives of the very old and the very young.  We are given a snapshot of how quickly it is flying by.

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Often when we’re traveling Phil sees animals along the side of the road that I never see.  Even when I’m driving I tend to look just straight ahead.  I told Phil that the reason I don’t see things is because my mind is a million miles away, focused on many different things.

He replied, “You need to start living in the moment.”

He was right.

Phil also reminded me of James Taylor’s epistle to his music fans, “The Secret of Life,” on this very subject.  “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time,” he sings.

So, this summer I am going to make an effort to focus on the here and now, to be present with the people across the table from me, and to notice the wildlife around me.

Time is a gift, our most valuable commodity.  There’s nothing novel about this idea.  But I need to be reminded of it often.  Living in the moment will help me to use time wisely this summer.