This and That

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As E is about to turn 11 and my eldest son soon to be 35, I am reminded of how quickly time flies and the changes that come with its passing. Sometimes, we get stuck in a rut of negative thinking about time. Taking the time will require too much of us. We think we don’t have the time to accomplish our dreams, so we never take the plunge.

As a young woman expecting my first baby, I remember the lack of support and pessimistic attitudes about my intention to breastfeed the baby. It sounds absurd now, but breastfeeding wasn’t the popular way to feed an infant. Sterilizing bottles and preparing infant formula was the modern way to do things. Although it’s the most beneficial and convenient way to feed a baby, it wasn’t in style at the time. Women would say remarks like, “Why would you want to do that?” Or, friends would tell me that they had no intention of losing their figures to nurse a baby. But the pertinent comment for this exercise is that it would be too time consuming. After all, sticking a bottle in your baby’s mouth while he lies in his crib frees up one’s time. I didn’t cave in to the well-meaning advice. Support came from my obstetrician who believed that mammals are made to feed their young and from my husband who knows it’s only natural. The experience was rewarding and I began to give my own advice when asked. Welcoming the opportunity to reflect on the bigger picture and put time into perspective, I would describe how in the scheme of things, nursing a baby takes just a fraction of our time. Time passed, and ideas changed. Young women realized that nursing their babies was a good thing and I found out that raising a family is just a blip in the timeline.

What is time? Is it the ticking of the clock? Is it how long it takes to do something? Is it the measurement we use to determine the passing of the minutes, the days, the months, and the years? We only have this moment in time, memories of a time gone by, and anticipation of a perceived future time.

It’s time for me to wrap this up, so I’ll leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein: The only reason for time, is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.

©01/29/09