Papa in his Twenties
Daylight Savings Time happens to be three of my favorite words. Daylight, especially this time of year when light is more precious, makes me feel better. Plus I’m more productive when the sun is shining as it feels like there’s still time to get things done. When it’s dark (and this time of the year it’s really dark) I’m prone to putting on my pajamas and curling up with a good book.
Then there’s Savings. Everyone knows the importance of saving, but not everyone follows through with it. Saving for a goal, like a down payment on a house, a trip to the Grand Canyon or a new bicycle gives one a sense of accomplishment from having been disciplined enough to save. That feeling is matched only by the appreciation of the purchase you saved for. As for the “Savings” in Daylight Savings Time, what, besides our sanity for not having to trudge to work in the morning when it’s dark out, are we actually saving when the sun begins calling it quits at 4:30PM?
Then there’s Time, my favorite four-letter word. Time is worth more than money and is a topic I refer to often because of its value. True, time flies when you’re having fun, but guess what, it flies all the other times too. Maybe not so much in the day-to-day, but looking back over the years I’m struck often – especially when seeing pictures on Facebook of childhood friends’ kids – just how fast the world is spinning.
Papa in his Nineties
This week marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, the night my grandfather experienced his small town being set ablaze. And while 75 years is a long time ago, for my grandfather that night still shines brightly in his memory. He was a boy of 17 when the Nazis set fires and broke shop windows in his neighborhood. Now, at 92, he can recall events of that evening more clearly than he can remember what he ate for breakfast yesterday.
Time is the most precious gift we’re given. We don’t know how much we’re going to get and there’s nothing we can do when our time is up. Sure, there are ways we can prolong it, like eating healthy and not texting and driving, but, ironically enough, time is the one thing you can’t save.
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