Perspective
The ceaseless passage of time is unrelenting and often disorienting. But sometimes the passing years bring a kind of gradual, organic change that is only shocking when viewed telescopically.
Today is my sister’s birthday. I vividly remember many of her childhood birthdays, like one in 1984 when I received a 45RPM record of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”. (It was customary in my family for the non-birthday sibling to be given some small gift to avoid feeling left out.) I also distinctly recall her 16th birthday, which almost feels like it was yesterday to me, where I think my mom’s enthusiasm exceeded my sister’s. I know she really, really wanted a car.
So, thinking back this way, where even a quarter of a century can pass in the blink of an eye, the changes wrought by time seem overwhelming. But if you had asked me at my sister’s tenth birthday party if I thought she’d be a married mother of two in her mid-30s, I’d probably have said I did.
Happy birthday, Heather.
Filed under: Family, Nostalgia, Special Occasions on March 11th, 2008 | 1 Comment »