Too fast. Another year. Where does the time go? Do you ever feel like time moves too slow to too fast? Or maybe you just need time to stop. What about time travel? Would you go travel back or forward in time? Time is never what you want or need.

Let us take a trip. A trip require you travel back in time. Back to a time in elementary school to solve a simple math problem. I know for some of you this is a long, long, LONG time ago but I promise you too will be able to solve this simple time travel problem. In math we learned A+B=C. If we apply this simple rule to real life then the following statement must be true: If time flies and good things take time, then good things should happen quickly. Right?

Too hot. The first of January was so hot the Kid was not only in shorts and a t-shirt but wearing flip flops and sweating while gardening wishing winter would hurry up and get here. Then typical of Texas winters two weeks later we were freezing. And unlike most cold fronts that come and go with a day or two, this time the cold front decided to stay and stay bitingly cold. So cold we had to install plastic sheeting to create a work corner where two space heaters were used so the Planner and I could work on two different computers. He worked on designing the Dwelling while I worked on work work. Somebody has to pay the bills around here!

Too many twos. 020222 or 220202 or 20220202 or 20220222 or 02022022. Take your pic for which date option best suits you but the Kid absolutely lost his mind with all these twos. He was counting down the days to say it was the second day of the second month of the twenty second year. Then again on the twenty second day of the second month on the twenty second year. By the second week of February the already blooming plants froze twice over a two week period. After several days in the upper 80’s there were another two freezes. Nothing major or long lasting but enough that the plants were singed and frost bitten, again.

Too windy. March blew and then refused to leave. Winds howled and howled for two weeks straight. Sustained winds above 20mph with gusts into the 40’s. The kind of non stop winds that gets under the skin and makes people grumpy, bitter, edgy. Ok, well makes me grumpy, bitter, and edgy. Loosing the family farm also makes me grumpy and reflective on how quickly time flies.

Too dry for two gardens. Raised bed gardens were removed and bucket gardens replaced. Tomatoes and peppers that were too quickly out growing their solo cup pots were transplanted and placed out of the wind and direct afternoon heat. Carrots taking their sweet time to grow into something other than finger snacks were transplanted and placed in front of the work box. Other plants were placed in front of the Rainstream. By the end of April the excessive heat, winds, and lack of rain were reeking havoc on the bucket gardens. The only plants surviving were those that were watered with collected water from sinks and showers.

Two frameworks. After just two weeks worth of work, the Planner fully assembled and installed, sandblasted and painted two frameworks for the two Dwelling boxes to sit upon. When crafting metal, the Planner does not mess around and the job is done in a timely manner. Faster than a timely manner even. I was amazed at how quickly this was done.

Too much fun. With summer upon us, the Kid was happy to be out of school and the Planner was happy to have the Kid home to mess with. When I look back at these pictures I am reminded at how little time I have left before the Kid is not a kid but an adult. Sad. By the end of June we needed a break from the work and went to visit the Doubter at his new digs. While there we were had to pleasure of watching two armadillos play in a water leak and then fed the neighbors two pets (Peanut Butter Cups the donkey and Biscuit the calf).

Two boxes. Literally the last day of July was the day that two boxes became one Dwelling. They were not water tight or sealed or Adjoined or Joined but they were side by side and the vision could be seen. Look at these beautiful welds. Only time and practice produce these results.

Two beams. The start of August saw the final weld of Fabricated Beam Part 1 under the box and by the end the August the Fabricated Beam Part 2 on the ceiling had been completed, too. So much time spent lying on the ground or standing on a ladder welding these fabricated beams in place. By the end of the day the poor Planner could barley lift his arms and his neck was tight from being held in such odd angles and positions. Maybe one time in days gone past this would have been an easy job but those days are gone.

Two fully framed boxes. Over a two month window, all the windows and walls were sandblasted and painted and both boxes were fully framed out and ceiling joists installed. Sandblasting took hardly any time to complete but it took two full days to remove the mess. Framework took more time than I thought would be needed and that was with two competent builders framing. Both the Doubter and the Planner worked more than 7 seven hour days and yet time seemed just to slip away without much accomplished each day.

Too cold. Every year we try to go camping during the Thanksgiving holidays. Time to spend doing things without phones and emails, deadlines and duties. Time to spend hiking, camping, talking, and sitting in the silence that is nature. Every year it either rains or it’s too cold to enjoy the week sleeping in a tent. Needing new sights with great weather predicted for the week, we headed to the mountains. And guess what? It froze every single night. We don’t have freeze clothes. We have long sleeves and a vest. I. Literally. Stayed. Frozen. The Kid was not having all that much fun either but he got to sleep inside the truck and not on the frozen ground. Brrr, brrr, brrr. Our trip was cut short as another cold front was coming. Another? It never got above 40 to start! Maybe it is time we invest in true winter gear?

Two freezes. Before the end of the year we were once again experiencing freezing temperatures at night. And a freeze in December is a rare deal in these parts. Plants still blooming because it had been a warm fall were now dead, the toilet tank that made it through the Great Freeze of 2021 cracked, and two days later we were back to t-shirts. I think it is time for weather to make a decision. This constant hot/cold, hot/cold is too time consuming. I want to enjoy my time at this very moment in time. I do not want to constantly be wishing for time to speed up or slow down.

if time waits for no one yet there is no time like the present, then shouldn’t time wait at the present? And if time waits at the present doesn’t that mean that time has stopped? If this is true, are you doing exactly what you want to be doing right now because this is the only time there is. Right now.