I have one of those daily tear-off daily calendars in my office.
(photos.com)
I’m pretty good about ripping off a page each morning, cup of coffee in hand; my calendar is from The New Yorker, and each day features another fun cartoon, some which make me giggle and some which make me wonder why I can’t be so irreverent/clever/witty. (Aside from that, it’s usually the only way I know what day it is.)
But I oftentimes find it sadly symbolic or ironic to tear off another day, crumble the piece of paper and toss it in the garbage. It shocks me into consciousness and begs me to reflect on that day, mourn its loss and celebrate a new day.
This morning when I reached for my calendar, I couldn’t find it. And then I realized that I hadn’t been following my so-called routine each morning. Alas, the calendar was stuck – and forgotten – behind a stack of books I unpacked last week (yes, still unpacking!) from one of my remaining cartons.
Days had passed and I was startled to see “July” appear as I ripped the pages, one by one. I know it’s July 4th weekend…but somehow, seeing it in writing was a whole other experience.
A pile quickly materialized. Should I toss it? File it away? Decorate the room with it?
I decided to take my time to decide. And that’s what I need to do – we all need to do – with our days.
Savor the days. Take your time. Slow down.
Time passes way too quickly – especially as we get older. And if we ignore that fact, the days will get away from us and pile up into a bunch of easily-discarded meaningless pieces of scrap.
P.S. The jokes were entertaining, each and every one of them, especially the one from last Friday.
May you savor and enjoy the long Fourth of July weekend!
Itchy for more of my musings? (And thank you, as always, for reading and commenting, if you choose to.)
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Irene S. Levine says
Enjoy the long weekend!
xoxo
Karen D. Austin says
A good example at how subjective the passing of time actually is. Time flies when I’m reading a good book. Time crawls when I have to do housework. Ugh. My best to you as you unpack and settle in.
Cathy Chester says
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I love checking things off on my “to do” lists, but hate seeing each day ends. I embrace my age and don’t enjoy how fast it’s moving along!
Nice post.
Helene Cohen Bludman says
Time goes by more and more quickly these days, don’t you think? I do like to have a tear-off calendar, too. It helps keep me focused.