Live Love Laugh Learn … Create the possibilities

Time flies …

This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a swift passage. You can take inspiration from any source. Who is going where and why. What makes it swift? Go where the prompt leads!

I think life itself is a quick passage. Time flies, as “they” say, quoting Virgil.

It is often also said, quoting George Bernard Shaw, that time is wasted on the young.

It’s only wasted because they have so much of it, they don’t know what to do with it. I wish they could save it up and use it when they get older and don’t have enough. I know I never have enough and wish I’d been able to save more of it for these rainy days.

Why is it that a day in a child’s life can be so looooong, and a year in an (older) adult’s life can be so short?

That’s where Charli’s prompt took me. I hope you enjoy it.

Regardless

“How long does it take to get old, Grandma?”

“Not long enough, Mickey. Never long enough.”

She’d once thought anyone over fifty was old, that it’d take infinity to get there. Now she well exceeded that number. She didn’t feel older, just creaked louder.

“My birthday takes too long. I want it now.”

“It’ll come soon enough, Mickey. Then another, and another. Soon you’ll be counting as many years as me.”

“That’s too long, Grandma.”

“When you get to my age, Mickey, you’ll see how short life is. Time doesn’t only fly when you’re having fun, it flies regardless.”

Thank you blog post

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

Comments

32 responses to “Time flies …”

  1. Hugh W. Roberts Avatar

    Life is like a toilet roll. The nearer you get to the end, the quicker it runs out.

    As a child, I wanted a piggy bank where I could save time. Even then, time fascinated me, Norah. Shame I lost that piggy bank and the time in it. I hope whoever found it, made good use of the time I’d saved up.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Norah Avatar

      That’s a good one about the toilet roll, Hugh.
      I hope that piggy bank is somewhere waiting for you to find it. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Jules Avatar

    Indeed, time flies regardless. Doesn’t matter if you celebrate them or not. The day comes and you get older, sometimes it does seem faster. I remember when I was a child wanting to let folks know that I was X and 1/2 That extra half year made all the difference – then! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      I know what you mean, Jules. I can remember my son telling an aunt of mine that he was almost ten when he was ‘only’ 9 and 5 months. Now I like to think I’m only a little more than half a century, though I’m getting dangerously close to halfway between that and a century, I won’t be changing my tune for a while. 😉🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  3. roughwighting Avatar

    So much truth in this!! And I do remember how sllllloooooowwwww each day was when I was young. I was so bored! And now? Each day flies like a flash of lightening. Sigh. I’m with Grandma. 🙂 GREAT 99 words, Norah.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      A flash of lightning. That’s the truth. 🙂 Thanks, Pam.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Jim Borden Avatar

    time is the great equalizer – we all have the same 24 hours in a day. But you are right, those 24 hours seem to go faster as we get older…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      Some people seem to achieve a lot more with their 24 hours than others. I’m one of the slow ones. I’ve never figured out why.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jim Borden Avatar

        I have some productive days and some not so much…

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Norah Avatar

          Even my best don’t match that of some others. But I do okay.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Jim Borden Avatar

            same here – there are some incredibly productive people out there!

            Liked by 1 person

  5. Msdedeng Avatar
    Msdedeng

    Norah, what a fun job you do. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      Thanks, Angela. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Swift Passage « Carrot Ranch Literary Community Avatar

    […] Regardless by Norah Colvin […]

    Like

  7. D. Avery @shiftnshake Avatar

    That’s a wise Granma.
    As far as the time problem, well it is true that the older we get the less we have. It’s a ratio and proportion problem. If you are five years old one year is 1/5 or 20% of your life. That’s a large amount. If you are fifty that same year is 1/50 or 2%, a small amount, so it would go faster….
    Right?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Norah Avatar

      Thanks, Teach. And when you’re more than 50, it’s an even smaller percentage. 🤣

      Like

  8. Bette A. Stevens Avatar
    Bette A. Stevens

    Well done, Norah!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      Thank you, Bette. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Jacqui Murray Avatar

    I’ve come to realize the wisdom of what you say, Norah. Time flew…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      I wish I’d closed the window and not let it out. 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Anne Goodwin's next novel is out May 29th Avatar

    .Oh yes! Love this line:
    She didn’t feel older, just creaked louder.
    Timely (!) piece for me as I’m writing a post on older characters. Some young authors write them surprisingly well.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      Thanks, Anne. That line was the truth for me.
      Your post sounds interesting. I wonder if we’ll agree with the assessment of the young authors when we reach the age they are writing about. I wonder will they.
      (p.s. I spotted an identical comment in spam. Thanks for your persistence.)

      Liked by 1 person

  11. petespringerauthor Avatar
    petespringerauthor

    I agree with Robbie’s comment. Life goes faster the older I get. I knew this is only what it seems like. This last year was an exception to the rule. What a long year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      I think the year probably feels different for you in the States where the virus is still raging. At first I felt time for me stood still but rushed by even quicker outside. It was a confusing situation. Even though we couldn’t do the things we normally did, the clocks didn’t stop ticking (I use that figuratively as most clocks don’t tick any more.) I was talking with my daughter this afternoon and realised that it had been 18 months since I’d visited her. It seems such a long time. Fortunately she has made a few brief visits here. I look forward to when we can visit again with confidence.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. robbiesinspiration Avatar

    This is very true, Norah. I think it passes faster as you get older because there is always so much we need to do. The busier you are the faster time seems to pass.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      I think that’s right too, Robbie. The older I get, the more I want to do. It’s a vicious (ever-decreasing) circle.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Charli Mills Avatar

    Wisdom we wish we had when we were younger — savor the time. I like how you set up your idea of time flying as a conversation on aging. May your days slow down, Norah.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      Thanks, Charli. What I’d really like is more ahead of me. Whatever number there may (eventually) be, I know there will be fewer ahead than there are behind. And they went mighty fast!

      Like

  14. Chel Owens Avatar

    I think anyone over age Creaks and Groans wants time to slow down!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Norah Avatar

      I thought it was pretty close to the truth for many.

      Liked by 1 person

I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.