Where Did the Time Go?
by Dr. Roger D. Haber
Where did the time go?
Recently my “little baby” turned 18! I can’t believe it. Last month my oldest turned 22. One graduates from high school and the other from college in a few months! I recognized this week that I am now the father of two adult children (at least chronologically).
It seems like yesterday I was changing diapers (or pretending to sleep so my wife would have the privilege and joy of that task).
Where did the time go?
I haven’t touched a stroller in years. I haven’t bought a diaper in decades. I can still remember taking them to their first day of preschool, then kindergarten, first grade, middle school, and high school.
I remember the time one of them played soccer and was thrilled at his first goal—for the other team! I remember treading water in the pool as they would jump off the really high diving board. I remember cheering at gymnastics, basketball, and concerts.
Where did the time go?
I remember drying tears over teasing and the first time childhood puppy love was dashed to pieces. I remember learning permits, road tests, and those nervous, finger-biting sleepless nights when they were out driving.
Where did the time go?
I remember arguing, sibling rivalry, meetings with teachers, and trying to keep them from playing one parent against the other.
I remember the recurring refrain, “Are we there yet?” every fifteen minutes on a sixteen-hour drive from Chicago to Philadelphia.
Where did the time go?
I remember stepping on Legos but smiling as he played with them for hours on end. I remember promising to buy a Nintendo if they could save the money; never expecting they would (they got the Nintendo).
Where did the time go?
I remember vacations to Niagara Falls: “It’s just water falling.” Or the Grand Canyon: “It’s just a big hole.” It seems like yesterday we took them to Europe: “Dad, could we please find a McDonalds?” or “Do we have to go to another castle?” Smiling as they put their feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (not on the same day).
Where did the time go?
I remember trying to get them to brush their teeth and washing their mouths out with soap. I remember long afternoons at Chuck E. Cheese or McDonald’s Playlands. How often I thanked the Lord for whoever invented Cheerios, especially on long rides.
I’ll never forget watching them play in the snow for the first time, bundled up, amazed that they were able to move arms and legs.
Where did the time go?
For my children, even my adult children, time seems to move so slowly. But for Nanci and me, it seems like yesterday we looking for Pampers coupons every Sunday.
1 comment:
Time is like water that flows down the river. You know it's going somewhere, though your not sure where and along the way it gathers more water, smooths rocks, cuts through marshes and eventually ends at the oceans mouth.
Just the same way with our children. We don't know where they will end up, though we know they will end up somewhere. We pray that as they flow down this river of life, the wisdom they gather along the way will carry them over the jaggard rocks of pain and trials. That those "rocks" will be smoothed out over time and as the journey cuts through college, career and new families one day we pray that the marshes where they slowly twist and turn will be pleasant ones, filled with life and joy, till that day their journey ends at the mouth of the ocean, or in our case in the arms of the Savior.
Time does go by sometimes quicker then we wish, but the joy of watching their journey is worth it all
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