Wrap It Up

There has to be a scientific explanation why time goes by faster as we grow older. Maybe we just gain momentum and pick up speed as we race through life.

Another year is almost gone, and we individually and collectively reflect on it. TV tributes abound for famous people who died this year: Michael, Farrah, Bea, Eunice, Ted, Walter, Soupy… Everyone that touches our lives becomes part of us. Sometimes we take celebrity deaths personally, but grief over a superstar is only a fraction of what we feel when something happens to loved ones in our inner circle.

When I was a primary caregiver, the days felt like they had too many waking hours and not nearly enough sleeping hours. Yet, I wanted to grab time and slow it down. Time was the enemy during Jim’s slow, steady decline into the land of dementia.

Like it or not, our world changes every day. My son told me a few nights ago that I should get a texting plan for my cell phone. I do something really weird with my cell phone—I talk on it. I believe a conspiracy is afoot to force me to get with the program. I haven’t had this much pressure since the kids were embarrassed about the dial telephone hanging on the kitchen wall.

My phone has been out since Christmas day, but I have my cell phone to keep me from feeling cut off from the world. I don’t have Internet because I’m on dialup. I can live without checking my email, commenting on Facebook, or even posting my blog. It’s an inconvenience, but I’m not losing any sleep over it.

Our changing world has made us dependent on the World Wide Web. How did people find destinations before GPS systems or Google Map? It is eerie to plug in an address and see images of your house on the screen. Well, they haven’t mapped out here in the boonies where I live, but my son’s house is not only pictured, you can see their mower kicking up grass clippings. You can become a little figure and walk through the neighborhood.

My granddaughter was playing with Goggle Map and found herself in Hawaii. “Can you find Fort DeRussy Chapel?” I asked. We walked through the surrounding neighborhood, and I saw a lot of familiar landmarks—including the Ilikai where Jim and I spent our honeymoon.

Maybe we should all just become virtual tourists. Think of how much stress, strain, time, and money we could save. I get emails daily about upcoming net meetings. People work from home, and come Monday, I’m going to be mighty jealous of them.

Embracing change and moving forward is the secret to a happy and productive life. We can’t live in the past, but the past lives in us.

We each produce, direct, and star in our own reality show. We faithfully tune in each day to experience the next installment. Life, like any good show builds on the previous episodes making the plot more intricate. Characters worm their way into our lives, and we love them just as they are. Once we accept their flaws, we find them endearing.

When we wrap up the past, we open endless possibilities for an unfolding future where adventure waits to happen. In life, we can’t fast forward through the bad parts or play the good times in slow motion. We should grasp each moment, and live it to the fullest.

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the New Year just as eagerly as ever. I hope your reality is filled with health, happiness, and love.