Life passes by in an instant.
Disclaimer: This is a late post. I wrote these realizations on paper last weekend, and I only got to typing it today (a week later).
Last Saturday, I packed Little O’s newborn clothes (and other stuff) to give to my preggy friend. I became nostalgic knowing that just 20 months ago, she was wearing these. I wanted to write about it here, but distraction finds a way to stop us from doing what we should do.
I cleaned the bedroom; changed Little O’s toys while listening to a podcast about the importance of boredom. Boredom is a rare commodity these days because of our smartphones that keep us entertained 24/7. And that’s exactly what I’m looking for – boredom. I need more boredom in life. Maybe a screen-free day once a week will do the trick!
The day after packing her old baby clothes, I watched Still Time, on Netflix. A dramedy about a guy who rushes through life. On the morning of his 40th birthday, she woke him by dancing to the song “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.” He appreciated it, until she revealed that she turned off his alarm clock. He immediately checked his alarm, and yes, he was late for work!
He got out of bed and started preparing for work. His girlfriend cooked his traditional birthday pancake, but he was rushing to leave. She made him count one to ten to let it cool, but he was in a hurry, so he counted quickly, took a bite, and burnt his tongue. But that was nothing, what’s important for him was to get to work.
When he got to work, his boss reminded him of his presentation – something he forgot to do. He worked on it ’til lunchtime. Back to his home, his best friend and girlfriend were preparing a surprise party. The guests arrived and waited for hours for him to arrive.
The next morning, he woke and found his girlfriend pregnant. Then realized it was his 41st birthday. Since then he has been skipping 364 days and waking up on his birthday. He missed a lot of things. His daughter’s important milestones like first step and first words. He didn’t know how to “reverse” what was happening to him. His relationship with his girlfriend eventually crumbled. His best friend was diagnosed with cancer. His dad died. He was promoted to director. And… he was still skipping 364 days.
Until one day, he decided to take his accumulated 96 vacation leaves. On that birthday, he spent the day with his ex-girfriend and daughter. They played games and did silly things. As the day ended, he put his daughter to sleep. He woke up the next morning seeing his house clean, as if no kid lived there. Then he was shocked to see that his ex-girlfriend and daughter were making pancakes. He looked at the calendar and saw that it wasn’t his birthday! It was the day after his birthday. Things have gone back to normal.
That’s when he started slowing down.
The story was a literal “where did the days go?” Unlike him, we experience day to day living. We experience it but don’t live in the present, that’s why we ask this question ourselves – “Where did the days go?”
That’s why it dawned on me…
Life is short and with the time we have, we should spend most of it nurturing ourselves and relationships.
Today, one week after watching it, I’ve started to become more intentional with my time and energy. I’m sure my screetime for today was drastically reduced compared to my screentime from previous days.
During a free period (Little O was being taken care of Ate Vi and D was with his friend), instead of doing nothing, I practiced Yoga. And after that, I started writing this. In the middle of my writing, Ate Vi knocked and gave me Little O, so she can breastfeed. Then I brought her down, and I walked with her around the compound for a bit until it was time for their afternoon bike ride.
