Timely

Do you want to while away the hours pondering the imponderable? Consider the definition of time. I don’t mean clock time. That’s not a biggie, unless you’re taking time to explain to someone how to tell time on an analog clock. You will hear the inevitable “Why worry with that when we have screens to tell us?” by someones who are getting increasingly older.

Does it mean I’m behind the times if I miss the ticking of a clock in the house? Ticking digital clocks. Do they exist? I searched. I couldn’t find any, though I did find dual clocks, but I was pressed for time, so I didn’t go down that rabbit hole too deeply. I’ll never be considered ahead of the times on much anyway.

It’s easy for me to lose track of time clicking my way through searches. When I’m doing that, it seems legitimate, but when someone else is so engaged, I consider it a waste of time. When spending time together, especially at a set time, no one needs a device in easy reach.

My initial intention was to create a clever poem with these nifty time expressions we use all the time, but time allotted for column-writing was interrupted. No matter how carefully I budget my time, I always seem to be running out of time when it comes to pinning down a topic.

Alas, ideas come when the time is ripe, no sooner. Ironically, I experience many brainstorms when I think I’m out of time, seldom ahead of time. Ideas burst on the scene when I’m making time for other activities, so I carry pen and paper at all times in pockets and purses, socks and sacks.

Being impulsive and…ahem…slightly disorganized, it’s not easy for me to bide my time when an idea surfaces. There’s no time like the present when developing an idea! From time to time I try to emulate the habits of other writers, but that’s seldom a productive strategy for me. On those occasions, I work overtime with no good end.

For some, time is money, but I do this more for fun. I’m having the time of my life, even though, being in the midst of my eighth decade, you might think I’m writing on borrowed time. I practice the mantra “All in good time” to regulate my blood pressure to perhaps buy a little more time.