Time Keeps On Slippin'

I was at a bar over the weekend with my fiancee and a few friends from work. One of the guys I work with was doing a gig at the bar; I'd wanted to see his band for months, but up to that night, our schedules didn't mesh.

When I got to the bar, there was a class reunion going on. I found out the Class of 1985 was having their 20th. When I heard this, I thought to myself "Man, only one more year, and I will be having my 20th reunion." And then, naturally, I started thinking about how time flies.

Twenty years ago, I started the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. Like everyone at that age, I thought I had my shit wired, but of course I didn't know squat about anything. I had tasted alcohol for the first time only a couple of months earlier. I'd had a few girlfriends, but nothing serious. I had no real idea about what I wanted to do with my life, but joining the Marine Corps, and working on computers were not things I would have put on my "to-do" list. I suppose I had planned on settling down and being a family man eventually, but I had always expected I'd be radically different from my parents. In all honesty, I don't remember much about what I had "planned" my life to be like; but I do know that I didn't expect it to be like this.

I was sure that I'd be among the cream of the crop in my chosen occupation, not just another cog in the machine. I knew that I'd be rich, as opposed to being middle class. I was positive that my parents would one day come to know, understand and agree with my way of thinking, but it was the other way around. I believed that my high school friendships would last a lifetime, not preparing myself for the reality that friendships, like pictures, often fade with the passing of time.

It's really funny how time works. When things are going good, time flies. When you're happy, time always seems to pass more quickly, no matter how much you try to hold onto the moment. When things are not so good, time is your enemy. You wish the unhappiness would end, and that you could get on with your life, but time seems to have a twisted sense of humor, and slows down during turbulent times. But the irony doesn't end there. As soon as an event or milestone has passed, it all seems to have gone by pretty quickly -- whether good or bad.

And so the cycle keeps going, at an ever-increasing rate of speed. Everyone says it... time goes faster as you get older. In my experience they're right, so I try to hold onto every minute. Even when I have a hectic day, and part of me wants it to end, I try to remember that life passes quickly. Every now and then, I long for retirement. But I quickly remember that I probably won't retire until 70 or so. While I may long for the slower pace of retirement, I'm not in such a hurry that I'm willing to wish the next thirty-odd years of my life away... that'll happen quickly enough.