Time Is Not The Thief

This time last year marked the big 4-0 milestone, which we celebrated on a lovely trip to Croatia and Slovenia. We went for a lovely walk around Ljubljana, strolling through a park and up to the castle, poking into shops and eating ice cream. We ended the day at the appropriately named Old Cellar restaurant in Bled (at the time we went, it was still located in an over 500-year-old cellar!), where we had a fantastic meal and I said goodbye to one decade and hello to the next.

This year, on a sunny Wednesday in Edmonton, my 41st birthday celebration was more subtle in its experiences, but no less rich with small joys.

It was warm, with a mix of sun and clouds. My lovely little garden was in bloom, having (so far) survived the weird weather of our alternately cool, blisteringly hot, and uncommonly windy spring. I went for a 5km run before lunch, and after the last meetings of the day, my husband and I quit work a bit early and walked to a local restaurant to enjoy happy hour on a patio (granny dinner ftw!). We shared a deep dish pizza, tried the featured cocktails, and then made our way back home, hand in hand.

Throughout the day, I received numerous calls, texts and social media messages from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. While they were only a few words (and more than a few dancing cat memes😆), they reminded me of how incredibly fortunate I am to have so many wonderful people in my life who care about me, and took a moment out of their hectic days to connect. I went to bed feeling loved and grateful.

Over the past few days, my first week of 41, I’ve been thinking about how time is often described as a thief, stealing away your youth and opportunities with each tick forward. As I grow older, I’m increasingly aware of its passage and the knowledge that time is running out for some things, and has already passed for others. But with that knowledge comes all the ways I’ve grown and changed, all the people who have come and gone from my life, the experiences that've shaped me, and led me to the place I am in my life now. I have to say, it's a pretty damn fine place.

While aging continues to be a strange and sometimes alarming phenomenon 😅, I can’t help but feel that, in many ways, time steals nothing from you but what you give it. 

It’s not that time steals from you; it's that things change, and life is happening all around… and you fail to notice.

It’s easy to put off the many joys and opportunities for connection when you're mired in the daily grind. In all the emails, meetings, and projects, it's easy to forget what matters when each day is spent focusing on whatever fire is burning brightest. Hobbies are dropped, friendships dwindle, and you can easily lose sight of what makes you happy. 

Time is not the thief. Inattention is the thief. 

There will always be roads not taken and too lates. There are decisions made and a wondering of “things that could have been”. However, you can’t travel all the paths; you can only pay attention to the ones you are on. It’s in that attention that the joy is found, self-discovery is possible, and you can decide to take new paths. Many paths are now closed, but many more remain open, or have yet to be opened.

Another year has passed, and I'm trying to pay attention to my here and now. The wider world has a lot going on, and it's sometimes overwhelming. I have a few more wrinkles and grey hairs, and I seem to always be nursing an injury 😂. But even so, I feel lucky to be 41 and grateful for the path I’m on, and even more grateful for the people who are walking it with me. And who knows what paths might be ahead!

Time is not the thief. Time is a gift, but only if you pay attention to how you spend it.

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