I’m on my way to my house at Cape Cod for the weekend to bring in the outdoor furniture, grill and hammock and tackle a list of odd little jobs. I swear it was yesterday when I brought it all out from the garage for the summer. Actually it was Memorial Day, which to a 52-year old like me, feels like yesterday.
When I was a kid, it took ten years for a single Christmas to come around again. Same for my birthday. Once the special day was over, I didn’t know how I would survive waiting all those years for the next one. Now birthdays occur so often I can scarcely keep up. I pause sometimes and ask am I turning 52 next year? Or 53? Oh wait, I already turned 52.
Sometimes I write checks with the wrong year; last year, maybe even the year before that. It can sometimes take six months for me to realize we’ve got a whole new calender, so in my warped little way of viewing time, years now only last six months.
I hope there’s a scientific explanation for this that does not involve brain disease. I think its called context. When I was five years old and Christmas seemed to occur only in leap years, its because a single year was one fifth my entire life. Envision an apple pie. Slice it five ways and you see a decent serving.
Now slice it into 50 little wedges and you see time as I do. Slice it into 78 wedges and that was my parents. You get the idea. When people say the years go by quickly, it’s in the context of the early years that dragged on.
In my weekend trip to the Cape twelve of the hours will be spent driving there and back, so it only leaves only one full day to accomplish all that I need to do. One full day. To a 52 year old that’s just an hour and a half. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
hi maureen, my first visit impressive enjoyed the trip to ts with you yesterday….
Once again I’ll miss ya be a few days..I’m headed for Worcester Tuesday for my semi annual visit. I’ll be stopping at Annie’s and/or Coney Island for hot dogs…this time with sauce!
You nailed it! Such a good explanation. Time does fly differently depending…..I think it was Einstein who defined relativity this way: put a young man on a hot stove and 10 minutes will seem like 10 hours. Put him on a couch with a beautiful girl and the 10 minutes will seem like 10 seconds. Or someting like that…you get the idea!
Your time, and mine, will go far too quickly. So we must enjoy it as it happens.
Good trip to you…
Don
Maureen, you are so funny. 52 and 53 are kind of alike. But when you hit 55 and then 60 you will know exactly how old you are. Your house on the Cape is so pretty. How great that you have your house to look forward to next smmer. Lots of work but time with your family and beautiful relaxing days. Hope all goes well. Carol
Good Mornin again, The secret to growing old is not worrying about it. Maybe that is why you can’t remember how old you are. It seem we all wait for important events to come to us. Starting school ,start driving , start dating ,graduation (then we go to class reunions to see who looks older) getting married acouple of times or more . No wonder we are getting old doing all this stuff packed into our lives. I was born in 1937 but at this point of my life every Dec.28 I have to figure how old I am and I don’t know why. I still work ,I have military rertirement, social security and golf comes to cenral NY eight months a year. I don’t know how old I am because the next thing I would have to worry about is not worth any worrying about!
Denny I just love this. Thank you. M.