Flying Time

Written by Georgia Monday, 18 January 2010 19:00

When you were a kid, did your parents constantly talk about how fast time was going? And you never got it because time positively crawled when you were young? A Saturday lasted for days, summer vacation for much longer than two and a half months and you could not grow up fast enough. I remember so distinctly hearing my grandmother talking about how quickly time passes, how quickly I was becoming a young lady, and I thought she was nuts. Time did not go fast. It would be forever before I turned ten, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one.

Now that I’ve hit middle age, I totally get it. Grandma was right: time does fly. And the older you get, the faster it goes. I mean, think about it. When you’re eight, one year is a full one eighth of your entire life. That’s a big chunk of time. But when you’re fifty, a year is merely one fiftieth of your life. Not so big. Pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things, really. I also get what my grandmother was talking about with regards to me growing too fast because our nieces and nephews are pulling the same crap with us. They won’t slow down! They’re becoming young men and women before my eyes and I don’t like it. I told them I wanted them to all remain three years old forever. Three is the best age in the world. Curious and talkative, but still small enough to pick up, cuddle, and boss around without much backtalk. But they won’t listen. They keep growing.

It seems like yesterday when I was wrestling with our nephews, Joe and Johnny. They were, maybe nine and eight? Eight and seven? Something like that. Little tough guys who thought it would be fun to take on Aunt Georgia. <insert evil laughter here> Today, Joe is 6’3” and has a full beard. Johnny is a sophomore in college. And Aunt Georgia has had back surgery to repair the disk she herniated during that wrestling match so many years ago…or yesterday (the match she won, by the way).

Our niece, Allyson, stayed overnight at our house last weekend. She’ll be twelve later this month. I heard her talking to Aunt Bonnie in the bathroom as she explained that she’d forgotten her toothbrush. Aunt Bonnie was rifling through the linen closet in search of an extra and she said, “Gee, maybe you can use this one. Aunt Georgia can’t seem to bring herself to throw it away.” It was a teeny-tiny toddler toothbrush with Elmo on it that I bought for Allyson when she was first getting in her teeth. Aw! It’s so cute! And it reminds me of when she was a little tiny thing…yesterday. How could I throw it away? Allyson, of course, rolled her eyes as only a soon-to-be twelve-year-old girl can. And I still haven’t thrown that toothbrush away. I don’t think I ever will.

I was at my mom’s the other day sitting on the couch next to our nephew, Frankie. He’ll be fifteen in March. I found myself looking at him, in awe of how he’s becoming a young man right before my eyes. He has man-sized hands now, which is almost bizarre to me. His voice has deepened. He’s tall and soft-spoken and if he’s not shaving yet, it won’t be long. I tried hard not to stare at him while I remember giving him piggy-back rides around the house.

It’s all amazing to me, a little stunning and a little sad and a little scary. I can only imagine how hard it must be for parents to watch their kids grow up so fast when I can barely handle my nieces and nephews as they do it. I want to grab them all, crush them to me, and plead for them to slow down, don’t be in such a hurry, stop making Aunt Georgia feel so old!

I’m sure they, however, think I’m as nuts as I thought my grandma was. I’m sure they can’t get time to move fast enough. It’s a cruel trick and it happens to all of us, doesn’t it?

 

Comments (3)
  • |06-09-2010 15:10:23 Kim  - Flying Time
    Time does fly when you get older I will agree, but for me I think it's because I'm loving what I am doing. (most of the time). Vacations are mostly too short but every once and I while we'll have a fabulous vacation and I'm ready to come home. I got the rest I needed (mostly mental rest) and I'm ready to go back into reality. Life is far too short to not have fun every second one can!
    Quote
  • |02-10-2010 12:27:11 Lisa Huson  - Time flies when you're having fun!
    Georgia,
    You must have read my mind! Our one & only daughter turned 20 this past Sunday!
    We no longer have a teenager?! People with kids in College use to seem like such an old demographic to me. We did lunch for our daughter in a trendy little Japanese restaurant in Buffalo with 12 of her closest friends. (That girl knows how to make friends!) Anyways, I asked them all when do you think you become an adult? Four of them piped up, when you go to College, are on your own & make your own decisions. I said, Do you really think that makes you an adult? Somebody else yelled out "28"? Then it dawned on one enlightened one, "maybe when we pay for all of our own bills?" Someone else yelled out, "In that case it's 40!"
    Quote
  • |02-06-2010 08:33:24 Bett Norris  - I agree
    I know exactly what you mean. My nieces and nephews are having babies! it seems impossible, but they are grown and have kids.
    Quote
Write comment
Your Contact Details:
Comment:
[b] [i] [u] [url] [quote] [code] [img]   
:angry::0:confused::cheer:B):evil::silly::dry::lol::kiss::D:pinch:
:(:shock::X:side::):P:unsure::woohoo::huh::whistle:;):s
:!::?::idea::arrow:
Security
Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Login