It's September!
Wasn't it just yesterday we were worrying about Y2K?
For all those who are too young to remember, that was in 1999 when the world seemed consumed with worries there would be a crash as the date turned to 2000 and some were predicting global damage caused by potential computer errors relating to formatting and storage of calendar data in and after the year 2000. Apparently the common practice of writing the dates with two digits would cause confusion and prevent differentiation between 1900 and 2000.
People stocked up on food, water, guns and ammunition, generators and some even moved to isolated areas to "live off the grid."
"The Y2K problem is the electronic equivalent of the El Niño and there will be nasty surprises around the globe," said John Hamre, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, came and went. Nothing changed.
Throughout human history, people have adapted to change. And, the older we are, the more we've adapted.
Maybe that's one reason grandparenting is so different from parenting. We elders have changed so much that we recognize what's important and can overlook trivial issues more easily.
The changes for my generation may not be as drastic as those my grandparents and great-grandparents experienced, as they lived through the beginning of the modern age when people began relying more and more on machinery. For centuries, people had worked and traveled and lived walking or dependant on horses -- whether riding or in a carriage or wagon.
With the advent and continual improvement of machinery, motors, transportation modes increased and distances once considered difficult to traverse were no longer an issue.
I remember hearing natives of northwest Arkansas tell about their childhood in the 1930s and 1940s before World War II when most of their lives were lived on the farm, they walked several miles to school and their families went to a town maybe once a week and to a larger town once a month. Now, people don't seem to think anything about driving to any city within the two-county area and some commute to work 30 miles or more regularly.
Computers and technology have changed communication, transportation and almost every facet of life. Most people carry a cell phone and have instant access contacting others. No longer do we wait weeks exchanging hand-written notes or letters. With texts, cell phone calls, emails, people contact one another. But, it seems truly relating, communicating, sharing our hearts and minds is declining.
Watch people in group settings, whether at a restaurant or public event, many have their heads down looking at their phones instead of talking to the person they're with.
Time still passes a second, a minute, an hour at a time. But, the older we are, the faster that seems to pass as a year may be a much smaller fraction of my life than that of my soon-to-be teen-age grandson. It truly seems it was just a few years ago my eldest child was becoming a teen-ager and now, she's closer to 40 than either of us would like to admit. I find my grandmother's words coming out of my mouth, despite thinking I would never utter such inanities.
September, the beginning of the fall (autumn) of the year and analogous to the fall of a person's life as their years have passed the half-century mark and are less in the future than they were in the past.
For some inexplicable reason, I'm feeling philosophical.
We've buried several beloved family members and friends this year. I'm older than my grandmother was during my college years.
I'm determined to live each day fully, relishing the relationships God has given and cherishing the time. It's definitely a challenge to battle the tyranny of the urgent. I hope to truly see the value of each and every moment.
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Editor's note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County, chosen the best small weekly newspaper in Arkansas for five years. A native of Louisiana, she moved to northwest Arkansas in 1980 to work for the Benton County Daily Record. She has nine children, six sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, nine grandsons and four granddaughters. The opinions expressed are those of the author. She can be reached at [email protected].