Facebook is always something of a mixed blessing. There are
posts that make you laugh and posts that make you shake your head. There are
conversations that cement friendships and conversations that end them. There
are trends that you look forward to and trends that make you want to poke
yourself in the eye with a rusty spork. Throwback Thursday is a trend that can
sometimes be both.
I love it when an old friend posts a TBT photo of themselves
at the age when I knew them best: high school friends posting high school
photos, college chums posting college photos, childhood buddies posting
childhood photos. The memories of our shared friendship come rushing back. But
sometimes an old friend posts a photo of one of their KIDS at the age when I
knew the old friend best. And to be perfectly honest, that kind of freaks me out
a little. Because it reminds me that I’m growing older. (Not old, just older.)
Oddly enough, when a friend who’s around my age has a
birthday, it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t remind me of my own birthday. But
when their children start having milestones, like turning 12 (or 16, or 21), or
getting their driver’s license, or going off to college, it reminds me of how
quickly time is passing by. I remember so clearly passing all those milestones
myself – but wasn’t that just last week? Or at most, last year? The number on
the calendar doesn’t bother me; it’s all that time that’s gone racing by that has
me worried.
Time really does speed up the older you get. Remember when
you were a kid and summer vacation seemed to last for years? Now that you’re an
adult, blink and you missed it. Spending an hour on the playground felt like a
month. But when you steal a moment to watch your kids playing on the
playground, it seems to flash by in a heartbeat. It used to seem like a century
between each birthday; now you can’t believe you’re having a birthday because
didn’t you just have one two weeks ago? Time speeds up as it goes by.
But that’s also a reason that I love seeing the old
throwback photos: it helps me remember back when time stretched on endlessly. The
times when nothing existed in the world besides riding your bike through the
woods, or sledding down an icy hill, or playing hopscotch, or having a pillow
fight. The times when all you focused on was the fun you were having right now.
No worries about what would happen tomorrow, or next week, or next year. No
thinking about your future, or trying to solve problems before they happen, or
stressing about plans. Just enjoying the moment.
That’s something I need to remember how to do: to just enjoy
the moment. There are so many wonderful moments in my life that I spoil by
worrying, or being distracted, or by thinking ahead, when I should just take a
moment to stop and enjoy the now. So instead of letting Throwback Thursday
remind me how quickly time is passing, I’m going to try to use it to remind
myself to stop and enjoy it. Maybe that will slow it down, just a little.
And even if it doesn’t, at least it might remind me that it’s
a good thing time didn’t stop at that particular moment…
No comments:
Post a Comment