Waiting for the perfect time

By Ellen Shuck

"Want to drive to Alaska?" I shouted to my husband, Don, from an adjoining room. "What?" his barely audible voice sputtered. That may sound like a dumb and impossible thing to do for many, but I had my reasons.

Don loves to drive, and it would be an exciting adventure for the two of us. Believe it or not, we enjoy riding along, soaking up the scenery and letting our minds wander onto whatever they choose. Usually we don't even have a destination in mind. We just get into the car and begin the mystery hunt, our eyes wide open with happy anticipation. Wondering what's ahead, we excitedly saunter up the highway and sometimes pretend we live wherever we stop. However, we never move to those wonderful destinations.

As a young girl, my friend Lorna and I often spent the night together. We would dream about someday traveling to places like Europe and China. We neglected to set a date, however. It was only a dream. One day as we discussed our big plans with Lorna's mom, Annie, she said, "All those plans and trips are good to talk about and anticipate, but be sure and don't wait too long." We brushed aside her remark and forgot about the bit of advice.

It wasn't until I married and became a parent that I fully absorbed the meaning and wisdom of her advice. Although I was always involved and caring, it seems our kids grew up while I was looking the other way, and they were married and gone before I realized the clock had been ticking all the while. The days and years were passing and I was still waiting until I decided it was just the "right time" for all these events to happen. Where had the time gone? I missed it. It flew into the air and out the window while I was busy with the stuff living is made of. I failed to notice the beauty of it all as it happened.

My sister, Jackie, surprised me when she suddenly died in the middle of the night. "She died too soon," I said. "I had plans to take her to places she had never seen, even to have her nails done and her hair trimmed and shaped." I asked God, "Why didn't you give me just a little more time? I still had places to go and things to do with her. Why, God, why didn't you wait just a little while longer?" Time had run out when I was least expecting it. I utter those same words every time a loved one passes. When will I learn that now is the best time, ever?

Author Elizabeth Keebler-Ross shares a wonderful perspective on time. She says, "It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."

Everybody has an inclination to procrastinate. It seems easier to do whatever it is tomorrow. Don and I have yet to take our road trip to Alaska, but I assure you, we will, and very soon.

Writer, Denis Waitley says, "Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.

"Don't wait until the right time to do what you want to do. If you do, you will never accomplish it. There is no perfect time, except now."