The days are long, but the years are short.
As a statement it is contradictory, but as an aphorism, it is as profound as it is self-evident.
It seems like one of those quotes that should be attributed to some great classical philosopher, but it's not. It is attributed to Gretchen Rubin, a 58-year-old, American, pop-psychology writer and blogger who specializes in habits, happiness and human nature.
She is a New York Times best-selling author with several titles that have sold more than two million copies worldwide combined, but she has said that her one-minute video from which the saying came, is the one thing she has created that resonates most with people.
And no wonder, it's brilliant.
As a writer, I'd be thrilled to coin such a simple, yet impactful phrase.
I probably have somewhere along the line in one of the columns or songs or poems I've penned.
Life is a circle, though not very round. I always kind of liked that one.
So, maybe I should say, I'd be thrilled to figure out how to parlay the words I write into the kind of wealth and fame Gretchen enjoys.
I was thinking about this phrase recently because I have had some very long days (and nights). My faithful companion Lady MacBeth (the Newfoundland dog) has been having some, er, digestive issues.
I will spare you the disgusting and stinky details. Suffice it to say, the week or so of constantly cleaning up, going out for walks every 20 minutes and coming up with strategies to avoid permanent destruction of our carpets and furniture while we were working or trying to grab a few zzzzzzs, dragged... a lot.
Then, a couple of days after things had settled back to normal, I was watching her lumber along on a walk and realized she was about to be 10 years old (in just three days from the publication of this column, as a matter of fact).
Where did all those years go?
It's not surprising that the aphorism has spawned dozens of other articles (almost all of which apply to parenthood) with the theme of making the most of the time you have because before you know it, it will be gone.
It feels trite because we all know this. We've all heard it a million times in myriad different ways, from dozens of other people, in movies, on TV, in music, in books, on podcasts.
And now, I have to go and make sure the date line on the front page says Week 38. It's funny, it feels like just yesterday we were putting Week 1 on the paper.
