It’s odd how Time, or the passing thereof, affects people in different ways. The other day, for example, I had a brief conversation with a friend about how July is passing rather slowly this time around and then shortly afterward I encountered another acquaintance who commented how quickly the month was flying by for him. Time is definitely subjective, isn’t it?
Time is often like the weather…you know how the weather is either too hot or too cold and time is either too fast or too slow. Imagine, if you will, a timed sporting event where you are on the team that is leading by a narrow margin with minutes or even seconds left in the game and the time is going ever so slow for your team while the opposition’s team’s perception is that their time is going way too fast but it has to be going by at exactly the same pace, don’t you think? A second is a second is a second so it just comes down to your own personal point of view, I guess.
I am acutely aware of what time it is all of the time, if you know what I mean? I’m a notorious clock watcher. I pretty much always know what time it is. To me, it’s almost an affliction.
“Hey, it’s coffee time.”
“Hey, it’s lunch time.”
“Hey, it’s quittin’ time.”
“Hey, it’s “Cold beverage of your choice” time.”
See a pattern here?
My wife, on the other hand, isn’t a slave to her watch or the clock at all. Lucky girl. Time will pass as it will…la, la, la…”Oh, is it lunchtime already? How’d that happen? I guess we should get something to eat, eh?” she says.
And I’m going, “It’s lunchtime ALREADY! When’re we going to get something to eat!? It was noon seconds ago! I’ve been watching it come since breakfast!” As far as clock watching goes I wish I was more like her.
The problem with watching the clock all of the time is that you miss what’s happening right now because you always seem to be watching for what’s coming up. Does that make any sense to you at all? Unfortunately, it does to me. It’s like a long highway road trip…if you only concentrate on the destination you’re not going to enjoy the ride.
Now, back to the perception of July’s passing. To me, the 2012 edition of July has been just about right. Not too fast, not too slow, not too hot, (for some of us anyway), not too cold. We’ve had the right amount of sunshine and rain without a wicked storm or…dare I say it…tornado around here, (touch wood...knock, knock), despite all of the threats. Or that’s how it’s been for me this July and I am very sorry to see it go. Yes, July, you’ve been a very good month. Thanks.
“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” Ada Louise Huxtable (1921-).
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