Time is precious

It may seem odd to the younger generation but I think all of us who have reached middle-age know that time speeds up as you get older. It doesn't really speed up, but the months and years seem to pass quicker now than they ever used to. Here I am, 58 years old, and still think I should be in my 30s. But I can no longer do some of the things I could at that age. I can still jog every work day, but my pace is much slower than it used to be, and I cut down from my daily 6-mile-run of so many years to 4 miles a day a couple years back. It seems to take me forever to get that far now, and I wonder, "Could I even GO that far anymore?" I don't mean for that to sound like I'm bragging, but the point is that I realize I can't necessarily do everything I used to, or at least at the speed that I used to do it. I've often thought that the greatest gift is time. I've witnessed my children grow up so fast and I don't know where the years have gone. Unfortunately, when they were young I was struggling with the Alex and Emery newspapers and working long hours in keeping those papers going. It makes me sad to think of the hours I missed with them because I was in the darkroom printing photos on a Monday night, or covering a school board meeting and staying up late to write the story,or going to another football game or basketball game. Nowadays, digital photography has made darkroom work a thing of the past. What used to take me probably 5-10 hours a week would be done now in a mere matter of seconds. Those are hours I would've loved to spend with the kids. I know they will forgive me for working late hours, but those years are so, so precious. I found this quote from Rick Warren that rings so true that I have to repeat it: "Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. It is not enough to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. "My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action." Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is "T-I-M-E." If I could ask for any gift from family and friends it would be just that -- time. Let's spend time together. Let's spend time together while we still can, while we're still young enough to enjoy it and each another. Your gift of your time means more than anything because we both have a finite amount of it to give, and giving it to another is a priceless treasure. And that is one bit of wisdom I will pass along to my children. Take time to spend with your spouse, your children, your family and friends. Those who truly value you will know that your time is your most valuable gift. Spend it wisely.