Saturday, April 12, 2014

Freaking Out When You Think You're Old

    About 1992 we hired a young single male teacher. Tom was well qualified and quickly became a very good teacher.

    Tom was single and as single guys go he could have  good time. 

    Soon Tom was married to his long time girlfriend and of course children appeared. Now Tom is a very affectionate, caring and sentimental guy. Tom's wife is a very lucky woman and his kids have experienced a solid family upbringing. The family traveled and participated in sports.

   I saw Tom and his family from time to time and it was always interesting to see the kids grow. Tom was very proud of his two boys. Oh yes, they learned how to fish! They also became good hockey players.

   Tom is a Face Book friend. The other day he said, "It's happened and I can't believe it. We took Gord to the high school orientation night!"  Tom couldn't believe that his son had grown up so quickly and was ready to enter high school. Yes, Tom was freaking about his age.

    So we have kids and are extremely busy with them and don't notice the time going by. I was surprised when my kids were ready to start school. It seemed like the time they were little went by very quickly. Where time really seemed to race is when they were in Middle school. Once they were through Middle School they seemed to be out on their own much more and away from home. I still wanted to have them at home. 

     All at once a certain milestone is reached and we are keenly aware of time going by rather quickly. Our kids are growing up and we are getting older.

     I'm sure the people who have children mark the passage of time by what happens with their kids.

    

23 comments:

  1. Oh my! Children grow up too fast! I wish we could go back just once, and relive those years. I often dream about my children, and they are still young in my dreams. I can't believe that I have a great grandchild "great"...on the way. How did I get to be old enough for that! :)

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    1. Probably many people have similar dreams to yours.

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  2. Those were the best years. The school years and though we were both teaching and I coached our lives centered school work, sports and music activities. And I all went so fast. Now retired we still keep busy but a much slower pace of our own choosing....;)

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    1. The years when our kids were young definitely went to fast. It seems like we only have them for a short time.

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  3. since i don't have kids, i couldn't say, but i sure see time passing in the reflection in the mirror. :)

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    1. If you look at your nieces and nephews you will feel the same way.

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  4. Even if you don't have any children around, the passage of time can be marked by siblings growing older, their children passing milestones at what seems to be the speed of light! :-)

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    1. All too often we forget the larger family.

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  5. Our boy is thirty-three and it's hard to realize we have a child that age.

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  6. They all grow up so far..way to fast for me. Time seems to go by faster everyday how does that happen. Some days I just want to say stop and let me catch up! :(

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    1. We can't stop because then we are really lost. Enjoy the moment. You have great times with your grandchildren.

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  7. Why is it that everyone except me is getting older? I get shocked when I realize how old my children are, and yet, I haven't aged a bit!!!!

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    1. Wendy that's exactly how I feel and I know it was how my mother felt too!

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  8. Oh time FLIES! I now refer to my son as my brother! HA HA! Just kidding. Some days I feel like I am 25, other days like I'm 95! :)
    Cheri

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  9. I know I marked time by my kids progress - and I remember that feeling when my oldest started high school. I'd love to have them home more, still, but that's all part of progress too.

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  10. Now that my grandchildren are growing up, I am counting ahead to how many years I might have left to live and what age and stage of life they would be. Will I see them graduate high school, college, get married?
    Kinda scary.

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  11. Parents do mark time by their children's milestones. When they are out of the house time seems to move more slowly because you aren't counting down so regularly but then all of a sudden five years have come and gone and it seems like yesterday. My kids are grown and I have four grandchildren but I still miss having anyone at home.

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  12. Good morning Red,
    I felt really old when the first grandchild was born. It's funny how we don't actually feel any older inside,

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  13. I always worked away from home so missed my sons childhood to a large extent. C'est la vie.

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  14. And time just keeps marching on, it waits for no one. I'm like TexWis: All I have to do is look in the mirror to see how fast it's marching!! lol. Beats the alternative though. All I have to do is think of my 19 year old nephew laying over in the local cemetery. Breaks my heart.

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  15. When I really stop and think about it, I'm often stunned by how quickly time has passed. And it keeps on going...

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  16. I think we can all relate to this. I can't believe my daughter is going to be 40! Good grief! That would mean I'm.... never mind.

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