14 of 31 - SOLSC 2022
Time is really hard to figure out.
Not the idea of 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day, etc. That's the part of time that can be calculated. I'm talking about the passage of time. (Are you singing James Taylor now?)
Time may technically pass in a consistent, methodical manner and yet that is not how we experience it. I have thought about this deeply, even wrote a paper in grad school about God's view of time. I won't get into all of that here.
What I am amazed at is teacher time.
Any teacher reading this will know exactly what I mean. There is the first six weeks of school. (I'm not talking of "COVID Times".) You then get in a routine with things going really well until a couple of weeks before Christmas Break, and EVERYONE knows the break is coming, and the break is needed and then it is upon you. You enjoy every minute of it, often thinking that some of the days disappeared somewhere along the course of the break. Then you are back at school, resetting routines, knowing that this is the the toughest stretch of the year. Am I right?! Every year, from the return to school in January until Spring Break seems to take a b s o l u t e l y f o r e v e r. After Spring Break? Regardless of how many weeks that is on a calendar, June appears before anyone had a chance to see it sneak up and then it is time to wrap up the year, finishing it well for the students and falling into summer.
So, that is how it goes. And right now we are just before Spring Break. Remember? That stretch that you think will never end?
Except this year. Something happened. For some completely inexplicable reason the stretch from January until now has zipped by. I am a little concerned for the speed at which we will feel like we are living upon our return.
Oh yeah, except Ramadan starts a week after we return, and that slows everything down.
So, that is how it goes. And right now we are just before Spring Break. Remember? That stretch that you think will never end?
Except this year. Something happened. For some completely inexplicable reason the stretch from January until now has zipped by. I am a little concerned for the speed at which we will feel like we are living upon our return.
Oh yeah, except Ramadan starts a week after we return, and that slows everything down.
Such a perfect description of this phenomenon that every teacher recognizes all too well. I'd also love to read your thoughts on God's view of time. So different from ours!
ReplyDeleteLiterally just had this talk, separately, with all three of my kids! They brought it up and are all at different levels - 5th grade, Freshman, and college. Crazy. Because otherwise you could replace pretty much any school calendar with your paragraph breaking down a typical school year and it would be pretty much a better way of tracking time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of disconcerting now, the speed with which time has been whizzing by, you're right. It's eerie. Even kids (school and biological, both) now seem to feel that way, which wasn't the case until two years ago. I wonder what ever happened?
ReplyDeleteLove this "kids (school and biological, both)" clarification!
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