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Q is for Quick

Q is for Quick
This entry is part 17 of 27 in the series A to Z

Quick response, quick buck, quick fix. 2 out of 3 of those are “negative.”

And the positive one? I rarely have a quick response. 24/7/365? Just numbers to me.

But is there a challenge with “life being so short” and all, that we should hurry up and live it? I need to get on with my life. I need to get busy living. I don’t have time for that. There are only 24 hours in a day. Get busy living or get busy dying.

Get busy. Quick.

Hang out with my 7-year old for a day. He’s in no rush. For anything. We’re constantly badgering him to get a move on, hurry up, do this, do that, faster, sneller, quick! But maybe we should look at it from his perspective: he’s doing what he’s doing and he’s not terribly interested in the next thing. He’s in the moment. He’s making use of–and fully enjoying–the moment. Isn’t that what we’re all trying to do?

But we need to get to school. The train isn’t going to wait. The doctor has more patients. Maybe we need to leave earlier. Maybe we need to not schedule 47 things in a day, but 2. Maybe it’s not him. Maybe it’s us. OK, it’s partly him. But it’s partly us.

His mom and brother are both away tonight. Maybe I’ll take a slow walk with my youngest and see where we end up … and when. And enjoy it. Happy Friday.

Excuse me Mr. Conductor, is there a slower train?

Excuse me Mr. Conductor, is there a slower train?

Series Navigation<< P is for ProverbR is for Respect >>

8 Comments

  1. Ida Chiavaro Reflex Reactions

    Dear Bradley I have nominated you for a Leibster award check out my R for Receive post for all the details.. you don’t have to accept it or give a quick response but you meet the criteria and I want more people to find you 🙂

    Reply
    • Bradley

      “I want more people to find you.” Wow, thank you, Ida. I’ll go check it out!

      Reply
  2. Me

    I loved this. Esp the concept of spending more time with a kid. Seriously we need to bit slow, just to look around and see others. 🙂

    And congrats on the Liebster award. As Ida said more people should find you! 🙂

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Kids are very good at it. As usual, we can learn quite a bit from those who don’t have so much on their plate. Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply
  3. cindydwyer

    Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. I admire parents who truly stop and smell the roses with their kids.

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Man does it take patience, though! I really was conscious about it last night and I realize how much I’m “in a hurry.” It’s not so much that we have pressing appointments, it’s just that he’s so slow and doesn’t have a care in the world.

      So I kept to my word and we had a slow night. We walked to dinner, took our time, I never said anything about the next step, where we had to be, or what time it was. He enjoyed watching the baseball game behind the bar of the restaurant. We had a movie night and I fell asleep before he did.

      But we did it. A slow night of slow food, slow walking, and slow … falling asleep.

      Reply
  4. orneryswife

    My son was always SO SLOW in everything, but looking back on his youth (he will be 27 next week) I wish I had taken more time to slow down with him. Excellent post!
    tm

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Thanks for mentioning that. It helps to hear from people who have Been There, Done That and listen to their wisdom. I talk to friends who have teenagers so I’m still cherishing every time my little guys want to hold hands walking down the sidewalk.

      Reply

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