DEAR MAE JULIAN,
Dear Readers,
I used to listen to my grandmother say, “where does the time go?” Well, back then it didn’t mean a thing to me, for I was young with my whole life ahead of me. Now, as I approach my 61st birthday, I ask, “where does time go?” Do you remember your grandmother also saying, “you children are growing like weeds!” and, having lived in your body you haven’t noticed the passage of time. Now, I understand what I didn’t understand then.
Here are two of my precious grandchildren. Clay, the firstborn child of my daughter, was born only yesterday wasn’t he? I stood by Betsy’s bed in the delivery room and watched his birth and thought he was the most beautiful child I had ever seen. And, of course, he was. And then he had a brother and two sisters and they, in turn, were the most beautiful too! I was looking at pictures today and I came across this one. Clay is holding Lulu and they are sharing ice cream cones and lollipops. See the trust in her eyes as she looks at him? She loves him. How did he grow this big? He is now eleven and I got a report from Betsy that he called a girl on the phone this week! I almost fainted. My baby! My baby! Surely it must have been a homework question. He has no interest in any girls, I’m quite sure! He looks after his little sisters, and goes to school and does homework, and rides a skateboard and a BMX bike. He is still my darling little boy.
Suddenly I thought of my grandmother. I understood her like never before. How she must have felt, when at 19, I told her I was getting married. Did she feel like time had knocked her down, too? Do we think that time stands still for us, whilst our children and grandchildren grow and become young men and women?
It is such a shock to think that I seem to be going forward at a rather rapid pace. Why do quotes like, “time and tide wait for no man” seem closer to me than when I first heard the quote? Why is it that Jack Benny got laughs every time he said he was 39? When I first heard him say that on our old black and white TV, I thought it was so dumb. After all, 39 WAS old! Good Heavens. My son is now older than that. I want to put my foot on a brake and stop time. Just freeze it and let me appreciate every day more. Let time slow down. Don’t let anyone I love die. Don’t start that landslide that older people have to suffer. I don’t want to read about anyone I know in the obits.
If it weren’t for these silly little kids eating their ice-cream cones, I’d be able to trick myself into thinking I’ve not aged a bit. My, have I gotten morbid? It must be the January bleak cold weather and the gray everywhere. No leaves and no flowers, no renewal. Pray for spring everyone! These winter blahs can’t last. Now I know why people go to Florida for the winter and why they are called “snowbirds”! Now, if I could just persuade myself to quit being a nurse and go south, maybe I wouldn’t notice the passage of time. What do you think?
Lovingly,
Mae
PS. Dear Readers,
The weaning date for the boxer puppies, which were mentioned in the January 9th issue of The Waynedale News will be February 7th. Anyone wishing to adopt an adorable boxer puppy with a great disposition, please call The Waynedale News at 747-4535. The request will be forwarded to Mae Julian.
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