A Slower Pace
This is a picture of a section of Main Street–my section of Main Street– in the town where I grew up.
Walnut Street connected with Main Street right across from Thomas Drugs. From our house we could walk four blocks to school, three blocks north to the drug store, or take a right on Main Street instead of crossing over to the drug store and go to the movie theater.
Back when I was a kid, life was much slower. Summer vacation seemed to last so long that by the time we had to go back to school, I was ready to go.
My grandkids find it alarming that we survived without our own phones, without video games, without flat-screen TVs in our rooms. We had no computers or calculators. We had no blue teeth (that is the plural for blue tooth, right?).
We didn’t go into our house, and into our room, turn on a computer (or our phones), log into Facebook, and send a message to our friend to see what he was doing. We just went to his house and knocked on the door and asked whoever answered the door if he could come out and play.
We didn’t have virtual fun back then, we had actual fun. We played kickball and tag. We rode bikes or went to the park. We went to the library and checked out books and read them. We swam all summer at the community pool.
We climbed trees.
The closest thing we had to updated electronics was an upgrade from black and white to color TV.
It was a wonderful time and place to grow up. We took our time and time rewarded us by stretching as far as it dared. Sometimes a day would take a whole week to roll by.
We looked each other in the eye back then. Life seemed more real and valuable.
Sometimes I seem to long for those days, but what I really want is to just slow down.
I want to breathe the air.
I want to sit around a fire with people I love, lean back in my chair, and listen to the crackle of the fire and the conversation.
I want to stay up late if I want, sleep in late if I want, get up at four in the morning just to write for a couple hours and go back to bed if I want.
Even back in college, (yes, this is where I went to college–lucky me!) life had a slower pace. That outcropping of rock all the way to the right was my favorite place to sit and think and wonder. Hiking the Red Dot Trail was another way to clear my mind and wonder at the marvels of nature before me, a kind of walking meditation.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe life goes whizzing by when we don’t take the time to wonder.
Look at the times we live in. Even the gas pump talks to you while you’re filling your tank. Distractions are everywhere.
Moments slip by unnoticed.
Time marches on.
After all, it’s almost 2019. It seems like yesterday it was 1987.
I need to find my equivalent of the ‘Red Dot Trail’ to help me slow down and silence some of life’s distractions.
It’s time to go now, life is calling…
If you know someone who would enjoy this post, please share it with them.
How do you feel about the pace of your life? Please, feel free to share with us in the comments.
Join our community
Subscribe to get our latest content by email.
Great read! Takes me back to think about similar things. Thanks for writing your ❤️!
You’re so welcome! Thank you, I appreciate it!
I know exactly how you feel. Wonder everyday when the golden years and are going to come. Don’t know now how I even found time to work but I’m glad I did, I found some of the best friends I ever had and I love them each until this day. It is so hard to just slow down and take it easy never been use to that and guess I never will. Still get up early and stay up late. I know God has a plan for all of us so I leave it all in his hands. Its the people that are changing not the world.
Lynn, it is sometimes hard to slow down, but I think it’s more about savoring the chore you’re doing instead of rushing through it just to get it done. I think when we rush through the things we do, we miss the joy that can be found there. You needn’t worry about it-you always find the joy in your gardening and it shows. It’s a lot of hard work and your flowers are so beautiful. It’s obvious you take great pride it caring for them!
Good morning Carol. I just absolutely love this writing and your thoughts. I am 100% with you on everything you wrote. My home town was very similar to yours. We lived on South Main St, two blocks from the courthouse square. The school was about 6 blocks away. We walked and rode out bikes without supervision all over town and to school. There was Smitty’s grill which had the best hamburgers ever and by the way is still in business today. My daddy ate breakfast there every morning while he was living and my brother followed daddy into that same tradition. It is a long bar with 30 bar stools still to this day. Although different owners over the years, it is still full of fattening goodness. Then there was Peters Drug Store that served those delicious fountain drinks with cherry and vanilla flavoring and the best grill cheese in town. Yummy. Miss Peters also owned and ran the theatre. I can see her now with her deep red lipstick on taking up money. Back then, maybe 50 cents to go to the movie. Yes those were simpler times. Just recently I went to the beach for a week and on three days, I totally unplugged and just really sat in mostly quietness watching the ocean and just listening to the sounds of the water thrashing the beach and children playing in the sand with laughter. It was the nicest kind of break from the bluetooth, TV, Iphone, Ipad. I too, long for simpler, less complex times. However, we still can accomplish that for a while if we just choose to do so. Try it at least a day a week. It is worth its weight in gold. Have a great weekend my friend.
Good Evening Susan. Your hometown sounds much like mine. I’m not quite sure if time goes by more quickly now because of the times we live in, the technology sucking us in, or that we’re older. Maybe it’s a combination of all three, but even the younger people say that the time is flying by. Maybe we just happened to grow up at the right time for time to move more slowly. Maybe it was growing up in a small town where we walked or rode bikes everywhere. From where I live now, everything I have to do is a drive. I think the walking helped slow things down. I like your idea of unplugging a day a week. I think I’ll expand that to no driving as well and see if it helps!
Thanks for sharing. Tell your brother to keep going to Smitty’s–it’s a tradition worth saving!