Thoughts on time . . .

“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so”
– Douglas Adams – Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

Faster and slower time spans exist in my reality. By the clock or timer, such spans should be equal, however, I’ve noticed that great expectations and rapt anticipation create slow spans, sometimes painfully slow; and correspondingly, any time your having so much fun that you forget to look at a clock, the hours slip by at hyper-speed. Slow time events in my memory: waiting for spaghetti or eggs to boil, The last five minutes of school before the release bell for recess, or going home time (and if there is a father & sons outing after school, the slow time span is magnified exponentially). Fast spans include family walks in nature, fishing, camping, golfing, video gaming, programming a computer, singing in a choir, the span of time in my children’s lives between birth and baptism, and baptism and college, and college and marriage, and dates with my wife — all these events go by way too fast! When we get to rewatch the great video recording of our lives (except for the parts edited out by repentance), I will have my finger on the rewind button for these fast spans of time, and expect to have proof that playback time for these is much faster than for the slow time spans.

What makes time fly for you, and what makes it feel as if the clock hands are moving through thick molasses?