Time

One of my favorite priests at a daily Mass said, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end the faster it rolls out." I thought that was pretty clever. Remember how slow time moved as a kid? There were interminable days of summer where I wondered if I would ever not be bored. I can remember years when I was certain Christmas would never arrive. I had the paper chain that never seemed to get any shorter. And I spent many days as a teenager convinced I would never be old enough to do whatever whim I was desperately clinging to that week.

Fast forward a few years (ok, more years than I want to admit) and I have to wonder where the time went. Today I got my first email message reminding me the holidays are around the corner and I need to start preparing. Heck, Target has had their Christmas stuff out for almost a month now. Any look at my oldest daughter is a stark reminder of how quickly time passes.

Tonight, my little Bophie fell asleep in my arms. She had a long day. Banana and Bear have classes on Thursday, so I have a little time with just Bophie. Today we went to run errands. We got coffees and dashed here and there and she didn't get her nap. Then we went to pick up the girls and she fell in the pool in her clothes. Luckily Mom was there to pull her out! It was an eventful day for her. She was so worn out that tonight during prayers she curled up in my arms and fell asleep-- fast asleep. I was at first thankful that tonight I wouldn't have to deal with her bedtime blues. Then, I was even more thankful for this time. She isn't a baby anymore, and pretty soon she won't crawl into my lap to be rocked to sleep. It was a moment of wanting that roll to unravel more slowly.

On the other hand, knowing we are next for matches (God-willing) has made the time since the last referrals seem ridiculously slow. I check much too often to see if there are new rumors about when the matches will arrive. I find myself wanting the end of the month to get here so we can see our little girl. We have been waiting almost three years and I am ready to finally get off this slow boat to China.

So I guess I am fickle and can't make up my mind. Speed up? Slow down? I'll take both :)