The Thief

Time. We like to think we know how valuable it is, how much of it we have, in theory.

Time is a thief.

This week as I held my brand new nephew and admired his smiles and chubby cheeks, I had the strangest feeling, as if I had just held my own babies just the same. Yet, my babies are halfway to grown. I’m so proud of all they have accomplished, the helpers they have become, the siblings they can be (when they aren’t squabbling). Time. It seemed yesterday I felt as if I could not handle one more day or one more interrupted nights sleep, yet here I am.

I have been a mother for almost 13 years. This summer has been one of our busiest yet. I have treasured all the fun and time, the sand and swimming, the lazy days at home, the late night sunshine in the backyard. The time slipped away like a ghost.

And yet, it gets busier doesn’t it?

I have anticipated the change in seasons as I always do, and perhaps it was the torrential rain we finally had around these parts, but it felt like autumn was around the corner.

School room is being sorted, books organized, my potential reading time narrowing with each passing day.

And yet, my oldest daughter will officially be a teenager in less than 4 months.

I seem to always wax nostalgic before the school year begins, the daily tasks become routine again. I get to look around my dining room table at these little faces.

The baby begins Kindergarten this year. Time is a thief.

I’m going to try to lock the doors and windows, to keep a wary eye out, to keep out the long, sneaky reach of time.

The real routine won’t start for a few weeks as we work the kinks out of our new schedule. Part time private school, extra-curriculars, music, reading, tutoring, friend time and time for my own sanity. I am setting a goal now for us to start our day with poetry. Something about reading a poem from a different time, the cadence, the rhythm, to start our day by listening, holding still.

I yearn to push them, to challenge them, but I want to above all, slow time. Keep them in a state of awe and yearning to learn more about themselves and the world around them. I have 2 timelines to follow this year. To begin an educational journey for a 5 year old with open heart and mind, and to continue a journey with an almost teen who devours books but doesn’t always want to dig deeper.

May time be on your side as the seasons change and new challenges begin. Good luck trying to slow it down.