Today, I'd like to start with a phrase written by Robert Herrick:
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
Old Time is still a-flying"
This bit of poetry occurred to me this evening as I was thinking about life and how quickly it passes us by. (That, and the fact that I recently watched an episode of West Wing where it was uttered by Donna Moss, who was talking to Josh Lyman about Joey Lucas. But I digress...)
Anyway, for some reason, life and the speed of it have been on my mind a lot lately. It could be because as I'm getting older and, consequently, so are those around me. It could also be because I've been thinking about people who are no longer with us. Whatever the cause, it always has the same effect on me: it makes me want to add more meaningful things to my already-packed life and live it to the fullest. But just how much to we add to our lives before the sheer amount of stuff starts to take away from the quality of it all? If we're so busy doing things so we don't die before we get them done, are we slowing down long enough to enjoy them?
I've always leaped headlong into pretty much everything I've ever done. This includes big things (like marriage) and little things (need a room parent? Sure! I'll do it!) I look at my children, who are 4 and 6, and see the way they run toward things with the unreserved wild abandon that only kids have. I remember the days of doing that, and think back on them with a wistful smile, because while they were sometimes fun, I've also learned the talent of hanging back a little and proceeding with more caution. (Especially as far as relationships are concerned.) Let me tell you, you'll learn just how long 3 months can feel like when you're waiting for the glorious day you are no longer legally bound to another human with whom you leapt headlong into things with, then ended up feeling like you'd had your head cut OFF. Or maybe feeling like you should have your head examined, I don't know which is more true.
Life is a funny thing - we spend so much of it trying to figure it out, and not enough of it just living it.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

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