My Life in a Week

“It is not the length of life, but the depth of life. He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Lifetime of a Mayfly: 1-2 Days

One of the joys of teaching is the fact that the teacher participates in the learning. During my first four years of coaching and teaching at Roncalli High School (now Aurora Central Catholic), my personal education progressed concurrently with my students. I especially enjoyed the literature courses where we explored topics that stretched over many topics.

Western poetry and literature were required reading in my college classes but a great percentage of the high school textbooks unraveled new authors and stories that attempted to interest young teens. And to the young teacher.

One such story that fascinated me as a 22-year-old now has even more meaning as an 82-year-old. The story: “The Ephemera.”

It was the short story of an insect whose life lasts only 24-48 hours. That’s right, this bug, probably a mayfly, has only 2 days to make the most of his time. Since he/she enjoys that time skimming just above a river or lake, a fish might dramatically shorten his time in seconds. Nature can be cruel.

Relative to other living creatures, the mayfly might consider its brief lifetime unfair. For example, humans might expect 70-90 years on earth. And Harriet, the giant Galapagos land tortoise, lived an estimated 175 years in Australia. 

Why my fascination?

Any octogenarian will, with minimal provocation, tell you how fast our lives pass by. (“Can you believe that it was only yesterday that we were changing diapers and now we might be wearing diapers?”) But indeed, our human lives, like the Mayfly, do pass by very quickly, and we squander much of that precious time on frivolous activities. 

As we get older, it is common to feel that time is passing faster. The days and years are shorter, while childhood memories remind us of long school days and longer summer vacations. Growing up took forever while old age speeds faster. Our first memories are dense with new things; in later life, new memories are scarce. Slower days tend to be full of productivity and events.

But looking back over the course of my life, it seems as though time might be considered as one week old.  One week? Eighty years condensed into a week? On a slow day, it might look that way.  As follows. 

Not comparing myself to the supreme. But…

The bible tells us that God took only 6 days to accomplish a lot. If I considered my life in terms of 6 days, it might look like this.

Monday

“Let there be light.” And it was the first time that I peered into the world in 1940 that I came into being. During the following 14 years, intensive training and education took place both in formal and informal education in Braidwood and Wilmington. (1940-1954)

Tuesday

“Let there be firmament.” Now grounded in the world as a 14-year-old in high school (Joliet), then college (Lockport), marriage, children, and work. Now 31 years of age, my lifetime partner and I have 5 kids, I have had an initial career as a teacher and coach at the high school and college levels. (1954-1971)

Wednesday

“Let the waters be gathered together.” Having learned the basics of private education from the perspective of teaching and coaching, I swim toward higher education administrative leadership at Lewis and the College of St. Francis between 31 and 45. (1972-1986)

Thursday

“Let there be stars.” The cloudy skies of the Midwest are replaced by the sun and star-filled skies of Colorado as I take the family to Colorado. Regis College (University) invited me to use my experiences and creativity in leading some new higher education ventures. Before long after arriving in Denver, our kids are married and the first of 14 grandkids come. Middle age has passed and I am 60 years old. (1986-2000)

Friday

“Let the waters swarm with birds and fish.” My Regis duties take me to the air, flying nationally and internationally, crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. More grandkids arrive with accompanying joys, graduations, and birthdays. Regis job duties are gradually replaced by part-time Lewis functions back in Illinois. (2001-2015)

Saturday

“Let there be beasts and man.” Understanding the relationships between humans and nature have become much more serious and meaningful. It is 2016 and I am 76 years old. My part-time association with Ana G Mendez University (Puerto Rico and Florida) keep me functioning in higher education leadership for a time, but I gradually become an active writer of personal and professional histories. My perspective is more universal and spiritual and reflective. My passion is to help prepare the grandkids for the future world. (2015-present)

Sunday

“Divine rest.” At age 82, I haven’t reached this goal yet.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Ferris Bueller

A Short Life is Good

Imagine a life without children,
A night sky minus bright stars;
Imagine a journey friendless,
Lightning bugs locked inside jars.

A tree stripped to trunk and few branches;
A rosebush with no bloom or flowers;
A landscape that’s barren and grassless,
A springtime with no sudden showers.

This is a world without meaning,
A world both deaf and muted;
No wrestling with passion and feeling,
A long life that’s only polluted.

A short life is bursting with passion,
Whipped by high winds and stark wonders;
Pricked and massaged, battered and loved,
Brightened with lightning and thunder.

Even long lives pass by quickly,
When senses are daily bombarded;
Warmed and chilled, sensually filled,
Notions of time are discarded.

With a wife and five kids, spouses, grandkids,
My life is a short life indeed;
With laughs and some tears, not a short life in years,
But a short life in terms of its speed.

A brother and sister who’ve grown even closer,
Three kids holding hands in a crowd;
Like a shrunken old sweater, tighter than ever,
Mother and Dad would be proud.

So next time you hear life’s term in years,
Remember how lives can be viewed;
Ten years seem like one, and one can be ten,
It’s how much a life can include.