Middle Age Plus

Do you have the time?

I am getting my hair cut this afternoon. Last week it was just fine. It stayed where I wanted it to be. It held the wave OK, and I didn't give it a second thought after I first combed it in the morning.

Suddenly however it is too long, it flies all over the place, and in spite of frequent combing I look like I just came in from watching a hurricane. I must have taken an extra vitamin pill or something to make this spurt of growth happen so quickly.

But it seems that everything happens quickly these days. School is back in session when it just got out for the summer a couple of weeks ago.

The Catalpa leaves are dropping when they were the latest ones to come out last spring- a month or so ago, I think.

My six-month dentist appointments crowd right on top of each other.

I argue with the date book and the reminder call that it most certainly hasn't been six months since I looked up at the shining light.

The baby birds are full-grown already and kids who are barely out of diapers are getting their driver's licenses. Or what's more surprising, they are getting married and having children of their own.

I have mentioned before that time doesn't take as long as it used to. But now it not only doesn't take as long, it just disappears.

It can't be time that I should start getting ready for an October family visit. And there is still plenty time to get in my reservation for the statewide United Methodist Women's annual meeting.

These things can't be coming soon. It is only the beginning of summer.

It's not that I am getting forgetful in my middle age plus years. No, it is that time has evaporated.

We're told to take time to smell the roses. I would if the roses wouldn't come and go so quickly. There is time tomorrow to go outside and check on the flowers‚ progress, but tomorrow suddenly becomes next week or next month.

In fact, I'll bet you don't even have time to read this column before the day is gone and you will not have finished half of what you had planned.

Re-runs on television don't bother me anymore because I probably didn't have time to watch them the first time around.

Or more likely, I wasn't interested then and am not interested now.

There is one thing that doesn't fly by in less than a second. Political ads are just going on and going on and going on. We not only hear the national ads constantly, but because of our geographic location we are privileged to hear ads from Kansas politicians, Oklahoma and Arkansas wannabes.

On Election Day I sometimes have trouble because I am looking for the guy or gal who impressed me the first time I heard their ad.

Then I discover they are not from Missouri.

Time until Election Day may drag a bit, but all other things are whizzing by too fast. There was a movie called "Stop the World I Want to Get Off." I need one that says, "Stop The Clock, I Want to Catch Up."

Oh dear, now I have almost missed the appointment for my haircut. I'll have to hurry, because the way things are going I probably won't get another chance until another season has passed. I don't want to have to braid my bangs.