Paradox

November 1st. That just seems impossible. This morning, we sat through breakfast and wondered if the sun would ever rise (it finally did sometime around 7:30). I mowed the lawn today for what will, most likely, be the last time this season, and almost immediately regretted not wearing a hat and gloves. As I write this, the sun has set and the moon has risen. Wasn't it just a few days ago that it was hot, sunny, and the calendar read July? And the lawn stopped growing because it was so hot and dry? And it was light until 9:00pm? How did this happen? How did we get to cold and dark and dormant?

Though I'm no scientist, I think I get the concept of the tilt of the Earth and the passing of seasons, so my question is not about that. I'm much more perplexed about how life (or my perception of it) has changed. When did time begin to pass so quickly? There was a point in life when 40 seemed to be eons away, yet here I am. In my teens, days might as well have been years (for many reasons). Today, I'm lucky to fit my day into my day. Again I ask, how did this happen?

Of course, the one exception to the acceleration of time is any situation when I really, really want something. Now. It seems that in those situations, my perception of time hasn't changed an ounce during my life. It never moves quite fast enough.

The reality is that time has always taken time. One minute has always been comprised of sixty seconds, no matter how many times I doubt that fact one way or the other. Knowing how much my perception has already changed only makes me wonder how much faster life is going to move from now on.

It's a shame that youth is wasted on the young. And that no one ever warns you how much more valuable time will be than money.