Are we there yet? vol. 137

Earlier this week I was emailing with a client and friend, Craig, and noted that my daughter, Isabel, will be graduating from high school this year. He emailed back that I must have been thinking with my “senior brain” because, in his mind, there was no way Isabel could be old enough to be graduating. Personally, having a “senior brain” is proof that my daughter could be graduating from high school.  

Back in January 2006, Craig and his wife, Maureen were house sitting on the island of Little Abaco in the Bahamas and invited us to visit. Isabel was a little over a year old and was already a great traveler. But after about eight hours on small planes, dirty taxis, and a rickety ferry, she ended up terrified during the last mode of transportation; a golf cart. How could this baby already be finishing high school?  

During my life, I have heard many people remark that time seems to go by faster as we get older. This seems true to me these days, but I think that it seems that way because I have less time ahead of me and don’t want to look back with regret that I missed something important to me. A quote attributed to Buddha says, “Time is free, but it's priceless, You can't own it, but you can use it, You can't keep it, but you can spend it, And once it's lost, you can never get it back." It’s that last line that resonates most with me. We like to think we have more time to do what’s important to us, but that may not be the case.

Craig, Maureen, and I remember that time in January 2006 like it was yesterday, especially, and probably because of, the golf cart incident. I want to make sure that I don’t miss interactions and events that are meaningful to me. Discerning what is important and what is not important is critical.

Take care and stay safe.

VIDEO:

Father Stu (Netflix)

When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long moves to Los Angeles to find money and fame. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. However, a motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others, leading to the surprising realization that he's meant to be a Catholic priest.