Well, That Went Quickly!
It was only a couple of weeks ago that Dori and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary.
And THIS week, we have the privilege of celebrating Dori turning 70!
I still can’t quite believe he’s that old, nor that I’ll be having a significant birthday of my own next year. Time, it seems, has been moving along without consulting me.
Perhaps you’ve had that same little jolt. An anniversary comes round, or someone mentions how long you’ve known each other, and you find yourself doing the sums. Surely that can’t be right. You still remember it all so clearly.
The calendar, unfortunately, is VERY sure of itself.
A pub lunch, a homemade cake and a guest list
Dori is usually a “let’s just go out for dinner” sort of birthday dude. But he’s married to me! So, we compromised: a pub lunch with 30-odd of our closest family and friends, including, of course, our much-adored grandsons.
I made the cake. The pub did the washing-up. Best division of labour EVER.
Writing the guest list was my favourite part. Every name brought a memory with it: the epic holiday, the friend who has shown up for us again and again, the person who always makes Dori laugh. Funny what comes to mind when you start writing names.
A guest list has a way of doing that. You start with numbers for a booking and find yourself remembering whole chapters of your life. Some of those friendships still feel new until you realise how much you’ve been through together.
Not everyone could make it, and that’s life. There was a tiny pang or two, I’ll admit. But I kept the day simple, and was SO grateful for every face around those tables. When you’re surrounded by people you love, you don’t need much else. Good company, good food and a blue cake will do nicely.
Where DID the time go?
It got me thinking: how fast time goes by.
And I suspect you know the feeling.
The children in an old photo now have children of their own. A song you remember dancing to is apparently a classic. You say something happened “a couple of years ago”, then discover it was ten. TEN! Someone really ought to check these figures.
Inside, you’re still you. You’ve learned a few things and lived through plenty, but a birthday number can still feel like it belongs to someone considerably more grown-up.
Not in a gloomy way. I’m busy. I’m happy. I’m loving this stage of life. Dori’s retired, and I’m building a business that has me excited about what comes next.
But have you noticed how the weeks fill up all by themselves?
Work. Family. The to-do list that never quite finishes. The “I’ll just get this done first.”
Then one day you look up, and another month has gone.
And you can wonder where YOU were in all that busyness. You were there, of course. Keeping things going, showing up, doing what needed doing. Much of it mattered. It just didn’t announce itself as another year of your life while you were in the middle of it.
And “we must do that soon” has a sneaky habit of turning into ….. a looooong time!
But when I think about that guest list, I’m reminded that those years haven’t simply vanished. There are people and memories in them. Ordinary days that became a shared history while nobody was counting.
You may see it in your own life too: a friendship that deepened, a difficult chapter you came through, a home you made your own. Things you hardly noticed building, until you look back and see how much is there.
Choose where it goes
Time is marching on whether I’m ready or not. So I’d like to be the one choosing where it goes.
More long lunches with people I love. More Tuesdays out with my husband, closing the laptop and actually DOING it. More of the things I keep saying I’ll get to.
Nobody’s going to put them in the diary for me.
There’s no catching up required, either. I don’t want to turn enjoying life into another thing we’re behind on! We can appreciate what’s already been and still feel excited about what we’d like more of.
The years may surprise us. There’s still room for lovely surprises IN them.
Sometimes it’ll be a pub lunch and a homemade cake. Sometimes it’ll be a cuppa on the deck with whoever’s free. I happen to have a jacaranda putting on quite a show out there at the moment, so there’s a very good reason to invite someone over this week, while we can still sit under it in full bloom.
So, what would YOU love to make time for while the years are busy flying by?
If you’d like more gentle nudges like this one, come and join us in the Radiance Room. It’s a warm little corner of the WendiVerse for people who want to live with a bit more joy, connection and radiance. Cake optional. Good company encouraged.
