Is it just me or has life become like the Enterprise on Star Trek, with first officer Chen punching the button on the control panel, activating top warp drive and flinging us across the universe at close to light speed? I feel like an elderly Captain Kirk, standing at the helm, steadying myself on the arm of my brown leatherette swiveling lazyboy recliner Captain’s chair, watching all the stars flash by through the front window of the ship. Forgetting where we were supposed to be going and looking around at the youngin’s wondering if they even realize what is going on.
I may have pushed that metaphor a bit, but seriously, if not light speed, then at least a new land speed record! Last month I was enjoying watching my oldest daughter in her second grade concert at school. Now she’s in college navigating a different world than she’s ever been used to. Last month I was watching in wonder as my youngest daughter, braced to a chair, started taking her first wobbly steps making her way across the living room. Now she’s sixteen. At the rate of speed life is passing by she’ll probably be off to college next week.
Ok, so I’m exaggerating with the month ago stuff, but it sure as heck feels that way, doesn’t it? People, especially old people (wait… I’m one of those now), often talk about time flying. They love to incessantly repeat, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” Well, I must have had a giant hot steaming mountain pile of fun for years then. If you use the logic of fun leads to light speed, it’s the only explanation for the warp drive at which it has all passed by.
My baby girl is officially sixteen years old now and there isn’t a darned thing I can do about it. Why would I want to do anything? She’s grown up to be a wonderful person who loves conversation, a great comedienne specializing in impromptu one-liners and is endlessly curious. There are some unforeseen bonuses to her turning sixteen too that I couldn’t have imagined. For instance, she has suddenly gone from being the quintessential Oscar Madison half of the sister duo to suddenly transforming into Felix, seemingly overnight. From a bedroom filled with old dirty plates and glasses piled up like the back of a poorly managed restaurant, mountains of intermixed dirty and clean clothes growing in height at exponential rates and just basically living in an eye straining mess, to now being clean as a whistle, sanitizing stuff, emptying out and reorganizing the linen closet for no particular reason, cleaning dishes in the sink… You know what, now that I think of it, I don’t want to jinx it so let me move on pronto!
Although the past sixteen years have flown by us like the enterprise zooming past countless galaxies, they have left us countless adventures and memories too. We’ve had plenty of Klingons to deal with along the way and several situations in which we weren’t sure we’d make it out in one piece, but we did. We were lucky to live it no matter what speed it happened at. I will always have those secret moments as I gaze at my daughters, imagining them when they were little girls, the innocence, wonder and dependence, picnicking, learning to ride a bike, playing “chopped” in our tiny kitchen. Those will be the moments that I will savor, letting time take its time. At least until they interrupt me by snapping their fingers in my face and asking what I’m zoning out about.
Life is like Chinese food. Sweet and sour. Wonderful moments and challenging times. Special events and changes we never wanted to face. Like Chinese food, it arrives faster than we expected. We devour it mindlessly faster than we had planned. Our bellies full, staring at the partially empty containers strewn about the table we wonder what just happened. Life just happened and it was wonderful, and always remember that the leftovers are even better the next day.
Renato Passalacqua 