TONI TALKS | ESSAY | REARVIEW

Time Tells The Tale

Mindful of the Moments that Made Our Lives

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒚. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒚. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒘. 𝑻𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐.

How did we get here so quickly?

My husband’s a planner. I’m a pantser. Each of us played a distinct position on the home team. When my man first broached the subject of retirement (in our 20s) it seemed a lifetime away.

Today, the cliché about having no idea where the time went sums up my feelings about the past. We’ve come full circle. All the old questions we’d answered, have been replaced with new ones.

Our minds are still sharp. Our limbs are conspiring against us. Though we’ve managed to hurtle through time without major injury, our bodies bear the brunt of gravity’s constant tug.

The reality is, for the first time in our lives, we are finally free. Yet our minds wrestle with the concept of what “freedom” means.

We are struggling to “live up to our potential.” To be the people God created us to be. To put God in control. To ask God to direct our steps, so we might do his will on earth.

Most urgently, to understand how to wisely invest the time we have left to make the rest of our lives, the best of our lives. Not just for ourselves. But for others.

Thanks for taking the time to read my random musings. 𝓣𝓸𝓷𝓲

🔹About Me ➖ Toni Greathouse (moniker) Toni The Talker ➖ Racing toward age 60. Living every day like it’s my last, but planning like I’ll be here 60 more years. Rewriting my reality in ways that will leave a legacy that outlives me.