A Blank Slate

Happy 2013 everyone! Where did the last year go? And how did it go so quickly?!

I’ve often wondered why our perception of time changes so dramatically from when we were kids. And then I realized it was because when we were little, and in school, we were always looking forward to something. The more we looked forward to it, the slower time seemed to pass.

As an adult, at least for me, I’ve realized I don’t really look forward to anything like I did back then. Sure, I’ll mark events on my calendar, and I’ll really look forward to enjoying them…but except for a quick glance, every now and again, I don’t think about them much. Life, after all, gets in the way. Every minute of every day when you’re a grownup.

I’m sure most kids look forward to the first day of school every year. But within about ten days, they’re anticipating the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. And hot on its heels is the two week break at Christmas. Then the next decent vacation is around Easter…until summer finally rolls around again.

Those are the things we lived for when we were kids. Our lives revolved around one vacation or another…and we looked forward to them with excitement, anticipation, and usually desperation…because no matter how great that first day of school was…school pretty much sucked. I mean really, it did. We had to get up early every day, sit through mind numbing classes for hours…when all we wanted to do was be outside playing. Or sleeping in.

In the midst of all of that were the biggies though. Waiting to be a teenager. Waiting for our driver’s license. Waiting to graduate, to get our first job, to have our first drink, or date. All we really wanted was to grow up and do whatever we pleased. To not have someone always telling us what we could and could not do.

But…surprise!

As adults, life is usually living the same day over and over and over again. Sure we do our best to enjoy it, and schedule things to make it more fun, but unless we were to keep a diary that listed those ‘different’ things, one day is pretty much a clone of the one that came before it, and the one that will follow after.

And I think that’s why time takes on the weird effect of dragging along like a snail…thanks to the boredom of every day being basically the same, to turning around a few times throughout the course of a year and wondering how we got from January to May, or July to September, way too fast.

Every year for the past few years I’ve resolved to stop doing that. To figure out a few things that will slow time down for me a little bit. And every year I’ve fallen far short of that goal.

But I’m determined that this year is going to be different. I will figure out a few events…special events…I want to do. Things I can look forward to. Maybe make one of those ‘wish’ boards with pictures to represent what it is I want to do. And then hang it where I can see it several times a day to remind me.

Yes, I have some major goals for my family, home, and writing…but I need to plan things that will bring out the impatient kid in me again. Things that have me chomping at the bit because I can hardly wait for whatever it is to get here.

I really think that’s the key to breaking out of the boring box of ‘sameness’ I’ve locked myself in.

So welcome, 2013. We have a blank slate…and we’re going to make this the best year ever, you and I.

I know I’ve shared the following song before, but it’s so very appropriate, and really expresses the way I tend to feel at the beginning of a new year. ‘Another blink of the eye.’ Yeah. That’s how fast 2012 raced by…

*****

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter. I’ll be posting the first scene from my new novella on Monday, January 7, 2007 on my new, strictly for writing, blog…Pretty Much Perfect Heroes. Only subscribers will get the rest of the story in their inbox.

Like Be the first one who likes this post!
This entry was posted in Love and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

10 Responses to A Blank Slate

  1. nice post Kristy. I have to say that life flies by for me. sometimes the minutes drag, but never the days or months. This past holiday, although I was busy seemed to be unending in the best of ways. I had lots of time for the things I planned to do and got them all done. with lots of time to rest, relax and catch up. it was wonderful.

    Happy New Year, My friend. May 2013 make all your dreams come true.

    • Thanks, Louise! 2013 is already flying by for me. I can’t believe it’s the 9th already! This past week has flown by at warp speed, much like the last two months of 2012. I have SO much to catch up, going all the way back to October. Yikes!

      Glad you had a great holiday. That’s the best time of year to have slow, relaxing days.

      Happy New Year to you, too! Let’s hope all of our dreams start coming true this year. 🙂

  2. Hi Kristy! Great to see you! Oh boy, does life pass us by. When we grow older our life passes by at warped speed. Like a blink of an eye. If you can figure out how to slow it down girl, I think you might just be eligible for the nobel prize. 🙂 We just have too many things happening in our lives everyday. But I like your idea of a wish board. Things to look forward to. Thanks for the encouragement Kristy! 🙂

    • Hi, Karen! It’s great to see you, too. I hope things are settling down for you and your hubby now. 🙂

      It’s kind of scary to blink after you turn 30 isn’t it? Some days feel like they take forever to be over, but then I turn around and another month bit the dust.

      I can get on board with that whole Nobel Prize thing. I’ve always wanted to win that (or is it the Pulitzer? I’m too tired to think right now…) for writing, but slowing time down would be even better. More time to write. 😉

  3. susielindau says:

    The trick is to never grow up!
    Happy New Year to you Kristy!

  4. John says:

    It all seems cruel. We want to grow up, then when we do, time just blasts by! On the other hand my wife and I recently talked about being kids these days. I’d rather be 52 today. There are so many more pressures on kids these days. Great post Kristy, very thought provoking. I hope you realize your goals this year. Be well!

    • Thanks, John! And I agree with you. It’s a whole lot easier to be an adult today than it is to be a kid. Things were so much simpler even twenty years ago than they are today. But I do wish there was a slow motion button (or something) we could switch on to slow the years down a bit. 🙂

  5. Emma says:

    I like the idea of a wish board. I do think since I finished college, every year has seemed to run together with no college, school, holidays etc to mark the changes.

    • I think that no long vacations and holidays do make a big difference. Half the time I don’t even know which day it is, lol. I’ve had to ‘like’ the few television shows I watch on Facebook so I can get the ‘Don’t forget to catch tonight’s episode of (insert series name here).’ 🙂

Leave a Reply