What Time Can't Take.

When we are kids, it seems time lasts forever,

and we are free to run outside with our siblings, cousins, and friends.

The sun watches over us as it starts to sink

behind the mountains or buildings, preparing for the moon

and stars to take its place.

When we'd curl up in bed, it felt like we got to sleep for hours,

and we'd wake up feeling refreshed and ready

for another day of simply being kids.

To kids, time doesn't really exist.

Then, when we enter our school years,

it's like time suddenly slows down.

We wake up far too early and spend too many hours

in a building when the world outside seems so far from our reach.

We want to go back to the days of waking up

and spending hours in the sun,

but instead, we are forced into four walls

and made to listen to things none of us really care for.

The days go by slow,

and all we want is for school to be over.

We crave our freedom.

Then summer hits,

and the days seem to just fly by.

We can never truly have what we want when it comes to time.

We want school to be over and done with

but never think about the time that goes with it.

Before we know it, we are graduating,

and the freedom we craved from our childhood

is suddenly gone because we are no longer children.

The days flew by, and we didn't get a chance to enjoy them

because it seemed like school sucked so much out of us.

We are soon faced with being eighteen

and having to figure out what we are going to do with our lives.

We didn't get a chance to just enjoy being done with school

and the chance to find the childhood that flew by so fast.

We are faced with adulthood

and all the things that will suddenly be coming our way.

Time doesn't wait for anyone.

It either flies by, and we are racing along to keep up,

or it slows down, and we are ready for something to change.

We never just enjoy the moment

and take the time to enjoy the time we have.

One day we're six years old, running around with our cousins in our grandparents’ yard;

the next day, we're moving out of our parents' house, getting married, and having kids.

I think back to the nights I spent at someone else's house,

whether it was friends or family,

and wish I would have stayed home with my parents and siblings,

craving those moments and memories I didn't make with them

because I was off somewhere else.

The little girl inside of me never worried about time

because, to her, there truly was enough of it.

But now, as an adult, I know there is never enough time.

There's never enough time to see the people you want to see,

go to the places you want to go,

and do all the things you want to do.

None of us have "all the time in the world."

We have the time that we are given,

and it's up to us to make the most of it the best way that we can.

So go see the people you care about as often as you can

and spend time with them.

Take photos and videos, then put your phone away and just be in the moment.

When you head out the door, just stand in the doorway and linger a little longer.

Soak up every second with those you love.

Make a simple phone call and just chat with them.

Time spent with those you care about, whether face-to-face or over the phone,

is never wasted time.

It's moments and conversations you will carry with you.

As I write this, I think about my granddaddy, my mom's dad,

who passed in 2023.

The last time I saw him, hugged him, was back in 2016.

As for my siblings, I don't know when the last time they saw him was.

I just know that time got away from us all,

life getting in the way,

and the hands of a clock pushing us apart.

But I think about the memories I do have with him,

and I cherish them.

Though my time with having him in my life wasn't as long as I hoped it'd be,

I look back on the memories of him and smile

because, in the short amount of time that I got to be close to him,

I'm still so very thankful for it.

I wish I could rewind time and go back to make more memories with him,

but I'll think about him and smile as time continues ticking.

I also think about my pawpaw, my dad's dad,

who also passed in 2023.

Christmas 2022 was the last time I got to sit and talk with him,

to hug him and tell him I love him.

I relive that moment often and think about all the things I wish I would have said.

Sometimes I even make up things and pretend it happened,

as if to somehow bring myself peace.

I wish I would have known that it would have been my last time sitting with him.

I wish I would have known that less than two months later, he'd be gone —

but even if I did, I don't think I'd ever be able to prepare for it.

So instead, I look back on my childhood

and all the memories I made at my pawpaw and mawmaw's house with my cousins,

and I hold them close to my heart.

Time may take away what we love,

but it will never take our memories,

our photos, our videos.

The things we love live on inside of us,

and we are their strongest protector.

Time is a big part of the reason I still live with my parents.

I love living with them.

I love seeing them every day and being able to hug them every night.

I love having dinner with them, watching TV with them, and going places with them.

They're seconds I won't get back, so I cherish them deeply,

and I am in no rush to move out.

I don't think there's anything wrong with people wanting to stay at home with their parents or those who raised them.

Like I said, we don't have all the time in the world,

but take the time you do have and do what makes you happy and soak up every moment you can.

I am grateful for every day I have spent living with them,

and I won't let anyone or anything take away the memories that we have made together.

This time is yours, so spend it with those you love.

This time is yours, so do things that make it feel like an endless summer day when you were a kid.

This time is yours, so waste it however you want —

because time doing things you love and being with those you love is never truly wasted time.

Do not take advantage of it because we don't have all the time in the world,

but don't be afraid to make the most of it.

Cram in all the love, laughter, and memories that you can.

Do what makes you happy, even if no one understands.

I could go on about time and all the things it takes from us

and how much I wish it would slow down,

but instead, I will end it with this:

None of us can ever go back.

We're all going forward,

but we carry our past with us,

and we have the ability to look back whenever we want and relive those moments.

We see how fast it really went but also remember how slow it all felt back then.

Cherish the memories, the echoes of the laughter,

and the footprints that continue walking beside you on your path.

Time can never take them from you.