Father Knows Best

Don't wish your life away. My father spoke those words to me many, many times. Like a self-absorbed teenager, I smiled and laughed, and assured him I wouldn't. But by mid-summer every year, I was wishing it were September. I was ready for a new school year, freshly waxed floors, creased Jordache Jeans, and Friday night football games. During the long, cold days of January, I sat in Geometry class wishing it was spring. After graduation, I spent my weeks in college wishing it was the weekend so I could load my little white Plymouth Sundance and head home. As a newly married schoolteacher, I wished it were Christmas vacation so I could spend days in my cozy, little house baking cookies and watching tv.


I loved my life. Being young, however, allows one the luxury of believing life always moves along as slowly as it does during a long Biology lecture on a grey winter day. Gradually, I realized that wishing for the next weekend, holiday, or season only seemed to make the years pass more quickly. And indeed they did. The years passed faster; the seasons came quicker. As I grew older, I understood exactly what my dear father was trying to tell me. Stop wishing each day is something other than what it is, what it is supposed to be. Summer days will be unbearably hot. Stop complaining and wishing it was cooler. Drink lemonade and stay in the shade.  Enjoy those cooler autumn days. Walk among the trees as they bring forth their deep shades of red, yellow, and gold. Stop wishing for Christmas before those glorious colors fade and drop to the ground. Winter is long. And cold. Stop complaining about the ice and freezing temperatures. Let nature rest like she is supposed to. Snuggle in and read some good books. Sit by the fire and learn to crochet, or watch some movies and drink some cocoa. Spring will arrive like it does every year. When it does, stop complaining about the endless rainy days. Nature needs them to begin again.

As I approach my fiftieth birthday, I look forward to cherishing every day and appreciating it for what it is, for what it is supposed to be and for what it brings to me. Today is a cold, dreary March day. Could it be sunny and warm? I suppose. But then I would miss the cozy afternoon watching movies and making dinner and laughing with my family.  Spring days will arrive. Easter will come. Summer will be here with the long sunny days and ice cream dates. Pumpkin spice days will follow, as will spooky Halloween and festive Christmas ones. I plan on pausing and enjoying every single one, and as I do I will think of my dear Dad with his twinkling eyes and happy grin telling me not to wish my life away because the older you get, the faster it goes!