Sunday, March 6, 2011

a peculiar thing, time


"they say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself"
-andy warhol


time truly is a funny thing. time is of greatest importance, for time is life, and yet it is so easily forgotten, too easy to lose track of. just when you are sure you have a grasp on it you find it slipping through your fingers yet again. when you feel you need it most it seems to go by so fast, and when you can't wait for the next day time almost slows; and yet, time never actually changes. seconds, minutes, hours are always the same. but then, you can cross an invisible line and suddenly loose an hour, or gain one. and what would you have done with that last hour, or what will you do with the gained one? i wonder how many hours of my life have been spent 'snoozing' or how many hours of the last month have been passed on trains, heading to a new place, or returning to a familiar one.
time passes by, the clock tower outside the window will increase the number of bell tolls every hour, and we choose what to make of it all. some hours are lazy hours, and often a lazy hour can be well spent, a nap in the sunshine much needed. some hours are full, full of homework, of conversation, of growth. as time passes thing change, we get older, we grow taller, we learn something new everyday, and as time passes we have a choice. we have a choice to change. we have a chance to make decisions that will move us along as time moves along, or we can let time pass before our eyes and continue to tell ourselves that whatever needs to get done will get done eventually. we have time so we can make things happen. we have been given time so we can take chances, and make changes. we are given time to spend happily among family and friends, we are given time to waste. we can do with our time as we please. but it will pass. no matter how much we would like it too, time does not stand still. even if the clock stopped working years ago, time is not ours to control. however, we can control what we make of it. i am making the most of my time here. i cannot believe how fast the time has gone. i cannot wait to see what the future hours hold. time here is not wasted.


a funny story about time: this morning emily and i both set our alarms for 8,30. i do not know why. we are supposed to catch the 8,38 train to make it to church at 9,30. at about 9,20 i went to get the blowdryer from emily, and being that time is a confusing and complicated thing that is so easy to loose track of, i somehow got time all mixed up inside my head. emily was ready to go. she asked what time church was, i replied 9,30. she asked what time it was now, i said 9,20 and she gave me a look like i was crazy and i went to continue getting ready. though at this point i may be certifiably crazy, i really thought that we had all the time in the world and needed to get on the 9,48 train to make it to church in ample time. we got on that train and had a quiet ride into the city.
when we arrived at church the missionaries were standing out front to greet us as usual, but as we walked in to the building, all the women seemed to be leaving relief society. kira informed us that we had, en fait, missed it. i was utterly baffled. it was already 10,30. where and when had i misplaced that precious hour? i still do not know the reasoning behind it all, and it ate at me all through sunday school, but emily and i just decided to laugh. we could not make up for the time we lost, but we could still make the most of the time we had. i bore my testimony in sacrament meeting, in french. i have never been so nervous. an adventure every day.

speaking of time, today i wore my seventies throwback dress
so i decided it would be best to feather my hair.
oh, the seventies, how sad am i that i missed that exciting decade.

3 comments:

  1. Grandma Hart was so surprised to receive a call on her cell phone and to hear a familiar voice...yours. She did not know it is "Grandmother's Day" in Paris and here and everywhere. It made her day to have you call from Paris to wish her a Happy Grandmother's Day! We are all caught up on your blog and are truly enjoying y"our" time in Paris. Avec tout notre amour. Gramps et Grams.

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