Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can’t take the speed it’s moving in
I know I can’t
But, honestly, won’t someone stop this trainHad a talk with my old man
Said, “Help me understand”
He said, “Turn sixty-eight
You’ll renegotiate”“Don’t stop this train
Don’t for a minute change the place you’re in
And don’t think I couldn’t ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly, we’ll never stop this train”– John Mayer, “Stop this Train”, Continuum
My wife and I found time to leave our kids and dine out with friends last night. A rarity these days.
On the way home, a little past 10, my wife’s phone rang. It was our eldest calling, asking where we were and what time we would get home. He’s three, and at certain times especially during bedtime, clingy.
As Krisha put down the phone after a few repeated reassurances to our little boy that we were just a few minutes away, I couldn’t help but think how very soon I will be on the other end of that line reminding a teenager to respect his curfew: “Where are you? Come home.”
(Why only a little more than a decade ago, I was that teenager.)
Most days I can’t wait to see my children grow into adulthood, and there are days when I wish the train that is Time ran faster, but tonight felt the opposite.
It won’t be long ’til my kids won’t need us to tuck them in at night. When that day comes, I know I’ll miss hearing tiny voices calling me to come home.
Some seasons in life you want to last a little longer.
Take the most of the time that is available to you, whether it’s with your child or your spouse or your parents. So that when the time comes that you will need to chase time, you can tell yourself in the face that you did not take your time when you still had the time.