Jim Fabiano: Take time for your memories
There is nothing more hectic than the end of a year or the beginning of the next. I am told time goes faster when you get old because of the realization there is little time left. In other words, it is important to take some time for your memories for when that time is gone there are no more memories to come.
I started to reminisce about the times I had missed because I was too busy to enjoy them. I thought back to the days I could have enjoyed with my friends and family because I had more important things to do. I know I missed a few laughs but more importantly, I missed an opportunity to know who these people were.
My mind's eye brought me back to the times when my daughter was young. When she considered me her whole world. She always wanted to play games or have me read to her. I did take some of my time and gave it to her. It was never enough because my career and life belonged to what I was trying to become. I am too afraid to think of all the memories I missed. I feel sorry for the times I stole from my daughter in my quest to do something I now have no idea of what it was.
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I continue to steal memories from my mother and father. My father perpetually invited me over to his house to simply talk. When I took some of my precious time to visit my mother, she treated me like she has treated me all my life. She treats me like her son. We both enjoyed this time of our lives and remember the laughs and the memories. I was smart enough to grab hold of these times before they are gone. I waited too late to have more.
I am even stingy with the time I give my wife, my best friend. I think of all the times I left her by herself watching television while I worked on something that doesn’t have enough value to be remembered.
Of course, we’ve had wonderful times together and our lives are strengthened through these memories. These same memories give birth to the hope of our future together. I promised myself I would spend more time with her because like everything in life we are only moments in time.
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I even cheated myself. I now flashback to all the times I put off doing things that made me feel good. I always assumed if it concerned something I enjoyed then it wasn't important enough to take the effort to do it. I never gave myself time to play the games I enjoyed because I was too busy trying to become something I thought I had to become. I never took the time to read that special book or write that unique essay. I now know another day not only doesn't come; it becomes lost in a memory that never happened.
Jim Fabiano is a retired teacher and writer living in York, Maine. You can contact Jim at james.fabiano60@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Jim Fabiano: Take time for your memories
