TIME, YOURSELF

Last week on one of my blog posts…

I spoke about the gift of time…

That I have now that I closed on my house.

This weekend…

I rediscovered a new perspective on time…

When I found an old poem I wrote.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF WHEN
Maybe I’ll take her to lunch. When?
Or invite her over for coffee. When?
Maybe we’ll go shopping. When?
Or take a walk in the park. When?
At least I should call her. When?
PHONE RINGS
“She finally did it! Overdose!”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Obviously finding “time” for others…
Isn’t easy and doesn’t usually have tragic consequences…
But this poem got me thinking about Harriet…
My seventy-two-year-old neighbor…
Who always calls when I come back in town…
Who still decorates her car with activist bumper stickers…
Proclaiming her sentiments on the environment and war…
Who reprimands me for not recycling my plastics…
And who is actually one of only a few people…
Who has read one of my current manuscripts…
And who…
I keep putting off visiting. Why?
Because I will have to give up some of my time?
So yesterday, I recycled/re-gifted a box of candy…
And along with a small poinsettia plant I had bought…
I walked down to Harriet’s apartment to visit with her.
She served me green tea as thin-bodied as she…
And we talked and laughed for hours…
But it’s not like she doesn’t have family and friends…
Because she does, many…
But still she’s interested in my writing, and my future retreat.
In fact, she wants to read another manuscript of mine.
“Are you sure? The protagonist is an old, white-haired woman…”
“Like me?”, Harriet asked.
I winced wondering if I offended her.”
She smiled, “What genre is it?”
“Dark religious horror.” OK! Now I know she  won't want to read it.
“Tell me about it.”
And so I gave her a quick synopsis.
“I like that you’ve included Jewish mysticism.”
“From the Psuedepigrapha and other ancient texts,” I said.
“Can you bring it to me tomorrow?”
“Are you sure? It’s gruesome in parts.”
“At my age, I don’t think anything will surprise me.”
And so today…
I will bring my manuscript of AZAEL’S LOT for her to read…
And she’ll give a gift back to me...
Her time.
So?
With “time” being such a valuable commodity…
How do you find it?

Always, Em-Musing