Tempus Fugit

As I sat down to write toady's thought provoking blog I began to wonder if this was the premise of an episode of a certain serial-medical-drama on ABC. Maybe , maybe not.....can't remember.


One hour. Sixty minutes. Tiny and minute in the span of our life yet I can guarantee that most of the events in your life happened in less than one of them. I'm a Mom. So I think like a Mother. It is always the first place I go when thinking about major life changing events. While my sweet boy took a long sixty hours to make his way in the world it only took a minute for me to become his Mom.

That moment came long before those sixty hours. It took a moment for two lines to appear and from that day on, I was River's Mom. And on a frosty, clear January morning with a bright sun rising it took only another moment for me to meet the love of my life.

In a moment I met my husband and while it was not love at first sight, it took only a few minutes for him to make me laugh my ass off and realize what a gem he was (is.) And of course it was in a fleeting moment that I realized I had fallen completely in love with him. Our marriage Ceremony was another one of those significant, life changing moments. Appointments with a Marriage Counsellor were an hour long. Those sixty minutes filled with painful realizations and tentative reconciliations. Without those hours, where would we be?

Those are some big ones but there are hours everyday that mean something. Themselves the reason for being. Dinner time is an awesome hour in the McKay household. When you get the five personalities in this house sitting down together it becomes a riot that often sets the tone for the entire evening. It sticks out in my mind as one of the happiest of every day. Having my family sitting together, happily communicating over a plate of something I have created for them brings me great joy. It is exactly how I imagined my life as a Mom.

One hour. It takes less than that to sit down with one of kids and make them feel understood. A few moments that could easily be used to clean the kitchen or watch a TV show. However when I give them to one of the girls or Riv, I am gifted back. I am gifted back knowing that I am investing in their happiness and confidence.....on hour at a time. And those hours compound.

This morning I left the house to go "up" town to run some errands with the one man wrecking crew. Within the hour I came home to find both of my girls. Apparently Chrissy Hynde (as I have lovingly nicknamed her) had an asthma attack in gym class. They were unable to reach me at home so they called upon my German lass to rescue her "sister." Apparently it was a bad one. I was gone for ONE HOUR! How annoyed was I that they didn't even call my cell phone? But, that is a post for another day. It just made me think about how quickly things can change. I went uptown with the idea that C.H. was happily making her way through a typical ninth grade day. Then I discover her laying, pale on the couch in the middle of the morning. It could have been worse, not major emergency but a thought provoking one.

The kind that leaves me wondering whether I should spend my time perched on the phone when my chickens are out and about in the world. Or, if I could really have my wish, perhaps one of those Weasley Family clocks. The one where a pendulum moves to share the whereabouts of every family member at all times. That would be a real life saver.

But for today I will appreciate my hours as they come. The hour I spent writing this while the Tornado napped was a delightful one. Thoughts, ideas, writing (a great love of mine,) music of my choosing and a fresh breeze. In my life there are very few hours like this one so I will take it like a thief because I think I have earned a moment for myself!