Friday, December 30, 2005

Time...

Time is an interesting concept to ponder at the changing of the year. It means so many different things. Have you ever looked at those Madeleine L'Engle chronologies where she charts the overlapping characters of her books on Chronos and Kairos timelines? Pretty deep stuff.

I always set my watch fast. It started when Lone Star Pa and I were first together. I think it was something he did and that we applied to all of our shared timepieces. Eventually, I got into the habit of setting my watch ten minutes fast. Eventually, Lone Star Pa got annoyed by fast timepieces and stopped doing it. At some point, I added a little extra-fast to my watch so that it is now somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes fast...but I do not know exactly how much. So now I never really know what time it is if I only have my watch to go by.

The Lone Star Girl owns several watches but wears none of them. She prefers to ask me what time it is constantly until I become unglued.

Anyone who knows my husband at all well knows that his most frequently used Lone Star Pa-ism is "Age and other numbers are just establishment illusions."

I enjoy a silly series of books by Jasper Fforde that center around a character named Thursday Next who is a literary detective and a Jurisfiction agent. Her father is a member of the Chronoguard, the law enforcement outfit responsible for protecting the timeline, much like the temporal agents on Star Trek. I often call the Lone Star Girl chronoguard as a perjorative. It is truly her calling and may - who knows? - end up being her life's work. She is a real fuddy-duddy about changing the timeline. Disapproves of Hermione and all.

Time slips through my fingers...runs from me like a cheetah. There is never time enough to accomplish the things I want to do...not even the things I just should do. The Lone Star Girl is ten years old...I am 34...the baby is 18 months...where does it go? If I slowed it down, even just a bit, the Lone Star Girl would probably arrest me or something but it just goes too, too fast...

4 comments:

Saints and Spinners said...

I enjoyed that first book very much! I meant to read the sequels, but my skittery-brain resisted. (What is it with this reluctant reader's mind? It's getting a little embarrassing on the professional front!) If I recall correctly, there was a silly bit about the advent of bananas. I should tell Brad the Gorilla...

Saints and Spinners said...

P.S. What did you think of The Time Traveler's Wife?

I'm still not sure what I think of it.

Lone Star Ma said...

I never read The Time Traveler's Wife. Shall I?

klk said...

I've yet to read the Time Traveler's wife, but do have it.
I'm also 34 this year.
My oldest dd is 7. Youngest almost 6.
I rarely wear a watch because I get obsessed by time. I hate to be controlled by it. I still have to read The Wild Mother. I own it now.
I love Madeline L'Engle. She is my greatest heroine in Literature, writers that is.
I just ordered the complete Chronicles of Narnia book set for my girls. I can't wait to have them read it to me.
Time moves so quickly, I hate to watch it on my arm, but I did purchase two watches for Christmas for myself (actually from dh)...for surfing. That way I will know exactly when to exit the water so I am not late to pick them up from school.
Some things in life are necessary.
Eating, good friends, books, laughter, surfing, time with children, and being on time to pick them up at school.
Oh, and creative time like this.
Thinking of you LSM.
xo, kkr