In pre-Socratic philosophical works of Greek mythology, *Chronos is said to be the personification of Time. (Not to be confused with Cronus, a Titan)
I can’t count the number of times I’ve said, “Any time now!” especially when I’m hurrying someplace or another, and the driver in front of me isn’t moving fast enough for me. I say it with great exasperation and impatience because, in my mind, whatever and wherever I am rushing to is obviously more important than the person in my way and their destination.
I caught myself doing that again today, and then actually stopped to think about my reaction to a slight delay in the flow of traffic. What is it that I’m in such a rush to get to? Will the world come to an end if I get there a few minutes later? How much of my need for speed is really necessary and how much is habit?
The fact of the matter is I didn’t have a good reason for either my behavior or attitude. Once again I had let my mind slip into neutral in getting from point A to point B without making the slightest attempt to enjoy the time in between.
This is a horrible habit, not only for driving, but for life as well.
It’s occurred to me that sometimes we spend so much time planning, plotting, working and rushing to achieve our life goals—a driver’s license, a marriage certificate, a birth announcement, a promotion, retirement, and so on and so forth—that we lose sight of everything else. We seldom stop to think about the day when we have few goals left to reach. Since I moved to this apartment, I’ve become more aware of how the elderly around me mark their goals by the things they can still do and how much time they have left.
Time, time, how much of it do we waste?
I know I spend too much time on the computer, playing games on Facebook, playing Sims, checking my email account to read out-dated postings and deleting tons of junk mail. I watch too much TV, start projects I don’t finish, and worry about things I can neither fix nor change. I even waste time trying to tune out all the woulda, coulda, shouldas of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
It bothers me that I waste so much time trying to get some rest at night. I’ve had a hard time falling asleep for most of my adult life so I’ve learned to keep a TV or radio on. The late night nonsense and infomercials help me wind down and when I’m not too stressed, they can put me out like a light. Last night I turned them off, but then I started thinking about how every tick tock of the clock by my bed sounded like another minute of my life slipping away.
When I have a choice, I don’t go to bed until I’m really tired. Then it’s easier to fall asleep. I read for a few minutes or play a game of Sudoku, turn out the lights and wake up when I’m ready to start my day. I like second shift work because I can wake up when I’m not sleepy and stay up late every night. It suits my rhythm so much better and I feel less a slave to a clock. Time to go to bed, get up, go to work, and come home.
That said, I have to admit Fridays are my favorite work days, although I have to go to bed earlier and be jarred awake by an eight a.m. alarm. I work from 9 to noon or a little past to put away the grocery order. It’s the one day I don’t have to be entertaining or accommodating for the customers.
I set to work with a box cutter in my back pocket and a price gun in hand, unload boxes and totes, and take note of the items that didn’t come in to neatly fill the shelves or the ones that did come in that we didn’t need. I’m interrupted once in a while to take a brief stint at the register, but when my short shift is over, the rest of the day is mine. I have time to pick up a sandwich of cod cut ups at the Cat and the Fiddle, or look for a sewing or craft or household item at Walmart or JoAnns or Hobby Lobby on my way home. Fridays are a good day for some dog time at my daughter’s.
Daylight Savings Time began this month. I had 8 clocks and two wristwatches to change. I have a wall clock in the kitchen and clocks on both the microware and the coffee pot. I have a wall clock in the living room, even though the room is open to the kitchen and dining room, the kitchen timepieces are out of my range of vision. I have two clocks in my bedroom, an alarm clock and the old, slightly damaged, wall clock (that sits on the floor under my TV table) and its beat helps lull me to sleep at night. I even have a clock in my bathroom! I guess so I know how much time I have left to get ready for work or how many minutes are left before a show starts on TV. I counted myself lucky that the cell phone and computer update themselves because otherwise I’d have to figure out the setting feature on them, too.
I like to camp or take mini-vacations where time is less important, but even there attention to Time must be paid. Check in Time, Check out Time. Departure Time. Arrival Time. Show Time. Meal Time. Let’s face it. Clock watching has become entrenched in our lives.
Minutes, days, years. The “Time of your life” goes by so fast. One day you’re intensely happy or sad, but most days you are too busy to do much more than keep one foot in front of the other on the path to What’s Next. One day you’re a child. Then you’re an oh-so-smart and smart mouth teen. You learn, work, wed. The days of young wife and mother seem to stretch out to infinity while you’re there, but then the children are suddenly all grown up and the marriage is nothing more than ashes swept away in a storm. You learn again, work and figure out what course your life will take now.
The time for me to be rushing through life passed without notice.
Today I decided to slow down and enjoy, no savor, the slower pace I had years back. I’ve started to contemplate why I think I need to be so aware of Time. I’ve started to think of Time as a gift and not a relentless taskmaster.
Last night I watched “Inkheart” on my computer. Tonight I’m going to the Lincoln Theatre to see “How to Train Your Dragon” with my friends. I think this is a very good use of my time.
I am working through the weekend as usual, but maybe Monday or Tuesday I’ll take time to bake. One of my very dear friends has a birthday on Saturday and I was teasing her about the Gooey Butter cake I was eating with my lunch while talking to her. She enjoys baking about as much as I do, which is a lot, but she had never heard of a gooey butter cake before. I know I’ve baked and eaten many in my lifetime, but for the life of me, I could not explain the texture of it to her. I have since found out it’s a St. Louis specialty.
This one’s for you, Annie! Happy birthday.
Here’s the recipe I use:
GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
Cake: 1 pkg. yellow or white cake mix, 1/2 c. butter, 1 egg
Filling: 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened, 2 eggs,1 lb. box powdered sugar,1 tsp. vanilla
Mix the cake mix with only butter and an egg.
Do NOT add the rest of the ingredients for cake or you’ll have a big mess.
Mash this into a 9 x 13 cake pan, pretty much the same way you would a graham cracker crumb crust for cheese cake, building a floor and walls.
Mix the cream cheese, other two eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla until it’s smooth and creamy.
Put this into the center of the cake and spread it out to the sides without breaking down any of the cake walls.
Bake for 35 minutes at 350. Don’t bother using a cake tester to see if it’s done because the center is supposed to be gooey!
Lightly sprinkle the top with a little more powdered sugar and let it cool.
Pace your consumption. It’s rich, and yummy, and you should seriously consider sharing. Come on. At least think about.
Sadly to say, Time got away from me. I started this on Friday and didn’t get it finished in Time to post it in a Timely manner. My thoughts have wandered and meandered from here to there in a rather haphazard way, but I truly hope this hasn’t been a complete waste of your time.
BTW: If you really want to waste some time, you could figure out how many times I wrote the word Time or a unit of Time. Too many times, I think
;-D
