The last time when time seemed to stand still for me was in high school algebra class. I remember looking at the clock thinking it was broken because the 45- minute class seemed to last forever. The fact that I hated algebra and didn’t get it probably was responsible for that feeling.

It’s not that I didn’t try hard. The teacher would turn his back to the class, then complete an equation on the blackboard without comment. I didn’t get it. Everyone else did, so I can’t blame the teacher.

I always did well in school, but algebra class was my Waterloo. I would probably have failed the class if it weren’t for a helpful classmate who came to my house to explain equations. I think the teacher was as happy as I was when I did well on the final exam and he no longer had to listen to me say, “I don’t get it.”

When my dad took me fishing in his little jon boat, we spent hours talking. I treasured those talks and thought he was so wise about everything. Except time, that is.

Dad told me the older one gets, the faster time goes by.

I told him that was impossible. Time passes the same way for everyone.

He said when you’re a kid, time seems to stretch endlessly. When you’re older, time flies by faster each year. “You’re see,” he said.

I can’t tell you how many times I recall that conversation and how I find he was right.

Time seems to pass faster each year.

Maybe that’s why the older we get, the more we try to make the most of every day. We know every day is a gift and we want to relish it.

Many of us try to find ways to make the day count.

My big promise to myself is not to waste a single day.

It’s far too easy to let a day fly by without being aware of the magnitude of the daily gift we are given.

Sometimes we get caught up in a problem and it’s all-consuming. Or, we let anger or heartbreak wipe out the day. We forget to look around at the wonder around us.

The other day I got caught up in reading a captivating book. I just couldn’t put it down before I finished it. Before I knew it, I had let the entire day slip by. That’s why I make it a rule not to read in the daytime.

If I save my reading for nighttime, I can use the day for my daily gratitude walk or to take care of the chores I keep putting off. I can do things I mean to do, like calling a favorite shut-in friend or sending a note to someone from my past who made an impact on me.

From the time I was a kid, my mom used to say when I had my head in a book I forgot about everything else. I would get so engrossed in a book that I didn’t even hear her calling me.

That caused her to panic one day when I didn’t respond to her calls and she ran all over the neighborhood calling me. Other neighbors joined in, and soon she had a search party.

No one saw me. No one knew where I was.

Finally, when she went back in the house she found me reading on the floor in the bedroom, oblivious to anything around me.

There are many ways we can waste a day. Perhaps the biggest way is not being aware of the gift we are given every time we open our eyes to a new day.

Let’s face it, not every day goes smoothly. Some are filled with problems or struggles. I’m trying to train myself to say thank you for a day like that, as well as a happy one.

I know that whether the day is good or bad, it will disappear quickly.

I just had a week so special that I didn’t want it to end. I had seven glorious days in Maine with my family. I finally got to see the grandsons I hadn’t seen for a few years. They changed so much I might not have known them if I saw them on the street. We spent hours playing catch-up, sharing our lives,

I was thrilled to finally go kayaking with my daughter Andrea. We had three adventurous days on the water. If I could have stopped time to make an experience last longer, that would have been it.

Andrea kept asking what we wanted to do each day. She didn’t understand when Maria and I both said we just wanted to sit around the table and talk. I wanted to freeze frame those moments so I could enjoy them forever.

Having stories or a fun activity with friends or family is more than rewarding.

When we realize time is short we know each day is ever so precious.

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