Virgil was right

For the past few years I have liked to use an 18 month academic diary, which runs from 1st July to 31st December in the following year.  Using such a diary makes it easier to plan well ahead without having to carry two diaries around for a long time.  Another option, of course, would be to use an electronic diary; it is something which some friends have encouraged me to do, but I prefer the old fashioned method.  It somehow seems a bit safer (unless the unthinkable happened, and I lost my diary).  I also love crossing out completed tasks!

Today I started a new 18 month diary, which will run until the end of 2014.  There mere fact that I have started a new diary reminds me that it will soon be a year since Sue and I moved down the M1 from Doncaster to Leicester.  In some ways it feels like we have been here a long time; on the other hand, the past year seems to have gone by very quickly.  I believe that it was the Roman poet Virgil who first penned the oft quoted words, "tempus fugit", most commonly translated as "time flies."  Many people would agree with those words!

Sue and I have been tremendously blessed in the past 18 months with the births of Max and Beth, our wonderful grandchildren (and we look forward to welcoming grandchild number three in a few months' time).  Being a grandad has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience; seeing both Max and Beth last weekend I was amazed at how fast they are developing.  They are now into the walking and "investigating everything within arms' reach" stage!  Our own three children are now in their late 20s/early 30s, but it seems like only yesterday when they were taking their own first steps.

The exact words written by Virgil all those years ago were, "fugit irreparabile tempus," literally, "time flees irretrievably."  It seems to me that what Virgil was saying was not so much that time goes by very quickly (although it can certainly appear to do so), but that time moves inexorably on, and once it has gone we can never go back and retrieve it.  Time wasted is time lost forever.  I am reminded of St. Paul's advice in his letter to the church in Ephesus, when he wrote, 'Be careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil'  (Ephesians 5:15&16).  I find those words very challenging: Do I make the most of every opportunity?  Do I appreciate the gift of each new day, and use my time wisely and fruitfully?  Food for thought!