School Bus

The school bus stopped right at the end of the driveway as it has every school-day for the past fifteen years, yet today was different. Today, Maggie became our last child in high school. For almost every day during those past fifteen years I have been witness to the bus arriving to whisk my children off as I wave goodby.

Where does the time go? We've all heard that before but this morning as I headed down for my radiation treatment I thought about it.

Where does the time go? Perhaps it goes with the everyday mundane tasks of getting up, getting ready, making beds, meals, washing dishes, laundry, mowing the yard and work.

Where does the time go? Maybe it goes with the thousands of trips to the grocery store, taking kids everywhere and the occasional evening out with friends or spouse.

Where does the time go? Seconds tick away, minutes combine into hours, days into weeks, months to years without much fanfare until suddenly you realize you haven't talked with a friend or family member for quite some time. In this process called “living” we take for granted many of our days but occasionally are reminded by an old photograph, a memory, or a sixteen year old girl stepping up on the bus for the first time without her older brother, that every day counts. As I watched the bus pull away this morning, I thought, “where did the time go?”.