As the Minutes of our Lives Tick Away....

It is Sunday and I've been pondering for days now, what do I take for granted? This is not a randomly arrived at concern. It is a topic for my writing class. The more I think about it the more puzzled I am.

Do I take things for granted? I'm sure I do, but since I take it for granted I'm at a loss to identify it. I try NOT to take things for granted; to be grateful for health and family and a roof over my head, but I still assume they will always be there.

While I ponder, I sit at my computer and play Solitaire. I love Solitaire. I always have. I remember watching my grandmother, sitting in the sun at our dining room table, playing solitaire all afternoon and wistfully wishing I could just play Solitaire all day. She assured me that when I was her age, I would be able to do just that, but by then it would have lost some of its charm. It hasn't, although I'm not quite her age yet.

I also spent the afternoon ensconced on the couch watching the NASCAR race. I love Nascar, too. There is a special thrill about being at the track as the train of cars go roaring past you, the engines vibrating through the stands, the rumble fading off as they enter turn 2, and exit turn 3. Today, I am mesmerized as I watch the cars go around and around. (It's a thing, I know. You either love it, or you stare at it in a brain fog. I love it.) As I stare, something is ticking away at my brain. It's beautiful out. Shouldn't I be out there, enjoying the afternoon? Or doing something else, like writing how I take things for granted?

Probably, but the race is on and I'm glued to it as I check the whereabouts of my favorite drivers. Besides, I've been trying to figure out a certain word on the Words with Friends game I'm playing with my daughter. I can do that while keeping an eye on what's happening on the track. "There", I think. "Two birds with one stone! I'm not really wasting time. I'm just allocating it."

The race is over, dinner is cleaned up and I'm checking Facebook one more time before I sit down to write about taking something for granted. As I scroll through the links, the shares, and the photos posted by friends, one stands out.

"Don't Blink. You never know when your life can change in an instant."

And there it is. Truth. Right in front of me. What do I take for granted? The fact that tomorrow my life will be the same as today. That when my husband and I go to bed at night, we will wake up tomorrow and go about our daily routines. But daily, I am surrounded by evidence that a fire, an accident, a diagnosis, .... could change my life..... In An Instant.

I look around the room at the projects I intend to do some day. The photos I want to sort, and make into an album for my kids, the stories I want to get into a book, the books I want to read, the sewing projects I want to create. My haven, just waiting for me to dive in and get busy as soon as I stop procrastinating and playing solitaire.

I don't regret all of the ways I waste time. I really do enjoy watching NASCAR races, so if I want to sit and watch, that's fine. But my grandmother was right. Solitaire can wait until the time when that's all I can do. If life were to change, and my time was no longer my own, I would be wishing I had time to do all sorts of things, the very things I take for granted that I can do tomorrow.