Timelines

As I read friends' posts about graduations from every level of school, I am struck by how quickly life goes. While we are struggling just to manage the day-to-day, big things change--elementary turns to middle, middle to high. Kids go to college, and then out into the world. All while it seems we are still trying to figure out what to make for dinner.
 
All these graduation notices made me stop and think a little about timelines...
 
It has been a year since the full-blown "soap camp" ended (Ironically, co-workers of mine are headed to the Daytime Emmys this weekend on behalf of those shows).
 
It has been more than three years since ABC announced cancellation of the soaps, and closing in on three since my time at ABC ended.
 
It has been two and a half years since I filed for unemployment, believing at the time that I wouldn't collect for long because I'd be back to work quickly. Quickly turned out to be not so quickly.
 
It has been two years since I spent a month on Bayou Billionaires, which, at the time, was like a miracle in my job search.
 
It has been two years since the summer of 99 cent pizza and cheap burritos.
 
It has been almost two years of writing blog posts.
 
In the middle of all of this, there have been graduations and shows, births and deaths and a hurricane. Timelines almost separate, yet ultimately part of the same life.
 
Time does go quickly. It's easy to miss the big while we're managing the small--and to miss the small as we get caught up in the big.
 
It is up to us to finish deciding what to make for dinner, and make sure we don't miss everything else while we're cooking.