One of my recollections about going from August into September was tearing a page off the calendar.
Well, at least I distinctly remember one particular year of tearing the page off the calendar.
I had an uncle who was kind of a braggart and show-off. It’s all a little fuzzy. This was a long time ago. Anyhow, mama made a comment about how it was already September, probably preceded by lamenting all the things that still needed to be done to get us kids ready to go back to school. With a flourish, this uncle grabbed the calendar off the wall and made a big show of how he was the master of time and could make the month change “Just by doing this!” He ripped the August page off and behold, suddenly it was September!
I was appropriately amazed with the power that obviously only he had — his ability to move time and make months change at will. He was delighted that I was impressed until I told him, “Do it again!” Obviously, I still had a lot to learn about the order of things. For instance, you can only make time fly at the speed of life. And life dictates that another page can’t be ripped off the calendar until the beginning of the next month. It’s only later that we learn how quickly the months come and go — and how the pages seem to fly off the calendar by themselves without ever having to touch them.
On the other hand, my wall calendar is likely to still be showing last month’s page for a week or so. Time flies by so fast I forget to change it. It’s not that I’m behind the times. My wall calendar is more of a decoration, anyway. I keep track of the years and months the same way I keep up with the hours and minutes — with my smart phone.
We had this visiting preacher at our church one Sunday night. He told us a story about his seven-year-old grandson who was pitching a fit with his mom and dad because they wouldn’t let him have a smart phone. So, the lad appealed to the “Court of Last Resort” — his grandfather. And the preacher disappointed his grandson and agreed with his parents. He was too young for a smart phone. The youngster then tried his final argument by demanding of his granddad, “Well? How old were YOU when you got YOUR first smart phone?” If he’s like me, I figure he was probably in his mid 50s.
The point is time marches on. That’s why we’ve had Halloween decorations in the stores since the 4th of July and why Christmas decorations are already popping up. So, we won’t get left behind by the season.
That’s also why my Christmas tree may still be decorated in the living room in mid-March. Time passes TOO quickly for me in some instances.
