Life is fleeting........

The advice nowadays is;

LIVE IN THE MOMENT

It is not a new idea. It used to be TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES.

If a moment is a second in time then I have lived trillions of moments and yes I have smelled at least a thousand roses, the best of which is the rose named Just Joey. I chose it  and planted the glossy leafed plant for my first born daughter. She has the apricot tone of that exquisite rose in her auburn hair.

I have a theory about the ever faster passing of time. 

(It's Christmas time in a few weeks and I will be unpacking the decorations and truly it seems as though it was a couple of months ago that I was regretfully packing them away in the loft.)

My theory is called the toilet paper phenomenon.

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It works like this.

When one is very young and in those far off days of my youth the telephone was a party line with a certain ring that alerted you to the fact that the call was for you...... time cralwed. It took forever to be Christmas and your birthday never came! So the toilet paper on its holder turned very slowly. 

As school approached the days still moved slowly but there was a just visible movement of the 'roll'.

Ballet and music lessons speeded things up to the pace of a snail.

Then there was high school and boys and rock 'n roll parties, socials they were called in those days and the movement of the 'roll'' was discernible.

Whew....university...early days teaching.... the "roll" began to really move and when marriage and children came onto the scene then time turned that 'roll' faster. It was in those years of crazy wonderful BUSYNESS that the magazines began to advise, TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES! Tell that to a toddler granddaughter whose aim was to tear the petals off  that rose and throw them into the breeze as confetti.

The glorious hectic years passed with the 'roll' flying frantically with a few weeks holiday a year so packed full of activity it was hardly a rest! When did one do that anyway?

Finally and wonderfully retirement has come along and at the coast there are no roses to smell because they HATE the salt air so I have learned to LIVE IN THE MOMENT instead. Many moments shared with friends and family coming and going....helping them to slow down for a little while. 

The 'roll' has slowed down considerably, but when I look at it closely my goodness when did it get so SKINNY?

I look at it seriously and thoughtfully. 

I recently had a need for a "walker" after my husband needed help after a knee replacement, I posted a loan request on a couple of chat groups I'm on and within hours I had the offer of 5 that were available. A sobering reminder of the effects of ageing.

So, to put it plainly and simply, the toilet roll has gone from squashy two ply, white and fat to a skinny little memory of what it used to be. The cardboard shows around the remaining paper. Indeed it has slowed down, SOMEWHAT, but the glorious days of retirement, doing mostly exactly what I want and enjoy doing, are still going by far too quickly. Without being too dramatic or macabre I am aware that I'd better be LIVING IN THE MOMENT, sucking each day dry of its juices because that toilet roll is spinning to its final conclusion and

THWAPPPPP P p p p p p p p ....... . . . .  .   .     .

One day it will be just the empty cardboard centre slowing turning to its final STOP.

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So often we drive the car on 'automatic' and have no real experience of the journey getting to the shops. Make sure that your whole life is not lived planning ahead or living the past. Be truly aware of the smile of that child, the kiss of that friend and the promise of the smell of frying bacon

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