This school year has gone by fast. I've been teaching for twelve years and this is the first year where I've felt like it flew by. It hasn't been the easiest year of the twelve by any means, merely the quickest. I think it's because of how busy it's been. Time flies when you have none! I wonder if this is just a new stage in my life; the part where in the blink of an eye life passes you by and you don't know where it all went. Time is weird in this way; how we wax poetic on the passing of it but also measure it rigorously.
I read an article last year that said time is the most commonly used noun in the English language. *It makes sense. Time is a science. 24/7/365. In modern life we apply it to schedules and calendar apps and holidays and birthdays. As a music teacher I recognize life has a rhythm that we are all obliged to follow. But time is also a construct. St. Augustine said that time is merely a perception. A perception of our past, which are memories. A perception of our future, which are expectations. And a perception of the present. He says that the past "is not" and the future "is not" so the only tangible thing is the present, the now. Maybe then, time is both objective and subjective, a dichotomy of sorts. I wonder if the many slices I've read about kids growing up too fast and wishing time would slow down are all just part of the human condition. Maybe the ebbs and flows of time that we feel are a reminder to remain in the present just like St. Augustine says, because it's all we really have. *Ahead of her time. Behind the times. Race against time. In the nick of time. Time of your life. Hell of a time. Bide your time. Time on your hands. All in good time. Only a matter of time. Only time will tell. The test of time. The big time. Time flies. Time is of the essence. Time heals all wounds. Third time's the charm. I'm sure there's more. Can you think of any?
1 Comment
Natalie
3/26/2017 04:02:09 pm
This makes me anxious! Thinking about my kids growing up so fast. Thinking of me getting older. Thinking of my parents getting older. Ahhhh...don't want to think about that anymore!
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AUTHORReese: Elementary Music Teacher in Chicagoland. Clarinetist and Trumpeter.
I'm writing a Slice of Life every day for the month of March as part of the Slice of Life Challenge. See more at TWO WRITING TEACHERS. MY FAVORITE POSTS |