Light On Dark Water

But at my back I always hear…

…time's winged chariot hurrying near.

I had a bit of a shock today: a call from the office of a doctor whom I'm supposed to see once a year for a heart exam telling me it's time to come in again. I started to argue that it had only been six months, or maybe at most eight, since my last visit. I really pretty much believed that to be the case, and the only reason I didn't argue was that in recent years I have had too many experiences in which I grossly underestimated how much time had passed since some event.

This is becoming somewhat disturbing. It's not that I'm afraid of getting to the end of life–I dread some of the possible difficulties of old age more than I fear death (but ask me about that again if I live another fifteen years or so). It's that I feel that I have so much more work to do, and that time is running out. It's like being in school and getting close to the end of a term without having started that big paper that was assigned in the first week.

Maclin Horton

10 responses to “But at my back I always hear…”

  1. Janet

    Well, I guess you just won’t have time for a coy mistress.
    While I certainly feel those chariots winging faster and faster than I ever could have believed (especially during vacation), I don’t seem to worry any more about all the things I’ll leave undone. In the past few years, I’ve pretty much given up any idea of visiting Europe or finishing school or reading everything I would like to read, but it doesn’t really seem to matter anymore.
    When we were kids, our teachers used to tell us that if we fell asleep while we were saying the rosary, our guardian angel would finish it for us. I guess mine will have to do anything important that I don’t get done. He’ll probably do it better than I would have anyway.
    AMDG

    Reply
  2. Mac

    My first thought was that I would have to find one who isn’t coy, but I don’t think I have the energy even for that.:-)
    It’s not the things I wanted to do that bother me, but the things I feel like I should do (or have done). I don’t know if the guardian angel will finish the rosary that didn’t get finished because I fell asleep reading a comic book.

    Reply
  3. Janet

    I don’t know, to an angel the Summa is probably the same as a comic book.
    AMDG

    Reply
  4. Mac

    No doubt. I really just meant the dereliction, though–reading the comic book when I was supposed to be praying.

    Reply
  5. Janet

    Well then, I guess you better get crackin’
    AMDG

    Reply
  6. Mac

    Indeed. If I just didn’t have to earn a living…but you could help by taking my dogs.

    Reply
  7. Janet

    Well, they can come live outside if they want, but I’m afraid Andy might be too tempting to the owls.
    AMDG

    Reply
  8. Will

    If it makes you feel any better, I remember thinking the other day that I definitely had another couple of months until I was due for my next dentist visit, then found an email yesterday (or was it the day before) saying it was time to come in again. I don’t use that email account much, and the email was from TWO MONTHS AGO. So either I am getting senile in my 30s, or this is a common problem.

    Reply
  9. Mac

    If I weren’t so dang sentimental…. I really sort of like having a dog, even two dogs, but these two have so many Issues.

    Reply
  10. Mac

    That does make me feel better, Will. Helps compensate for that episode which appeared to be an attempt to drown my daughters.

    Reply

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