Recently my husband and I celebrated a major milestone in our life— our 20th wedding Anniversary! April 19, 2002, we were two young medical residents in Stamford, Connecticut, not knowing our journey of life would lead us to the South. Almost immediately our family began to to grow with the practice. I remember coming into work one morning frazzled due to a colicky infant. A patient advised me to cherish every moment because with a blink of an eye that baby would be driving and going to college. My sleep-deprived mind only could think of one thing: how cliché. Well, usually I like when my patients are right, but with this instance I’m struggling a bit. Time truly has flown by.
When we arrived in Georgia the days were long and the nights were hard as we built the practice. Blood, sweat, and tears do-si-doed with winks, hugs, and giggles. Father Time seemed to be at a turtle’s pace back then. Or maybe it was just that we only had the one office in Jasper and were still trying to win over the community as the new docs in town. Or maybe it’s just the natural ease of the South, a place where many actually do stop to smell the roses… 5 years later our waltz had quickly transitioned to a quick step after the birth of our daughter. Juggling 2 children and 2 practices was dizzying! Life was in full gear. For a breather every summer we drove up North to visit my parents in Pennsylvania. My mom would always mention how different the children looked with each visit— how much they grown and blossomed. I don’t recall when I began to notice my parents greying hairs and slowed gaits. It’s as if the opposite was happening to them, a shrinking of sorts. The once BIG personas of my beloved parents seemed delicate, like time.
Last year when my husband was hospitalized with Covid double pneumonia was when time froze. The choreography of life came to a full stop. It was then that I realized that nothing was guaranteed and time was truly finite. And instead of taking time for granted, I would truly LIVE a life which was more meaningful to me. Sometimes epiphanies come at the oddest times. I’m sure many people shared the same boat with me during this pandemic.
