I keep thinking there is still time.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking that?

I have.

There is still time to spend an afternoon with my daughter. The ocean will still be there when these family crises settle down.

Those dreams I tucked away? I will get to them.

Later.

It is funny how easily we believe later will wait for us.

Life gets busy. Someone needs us. There are appointments to keep, errands to run, and responsibilities that cannot be ignored. Before we know it, another day has disappeared.

Then the days start adding up.

My daughter grew up and moved away. Now she is raising a family of her own. I think about the afternoons we could have spent together when I believed we both had plenty of time.

My grandson took his first steps. Those first eighteen months of his life disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The ocean kept calling my name. It brings me the tranquility I need to move forward.

Dreams that I wanted to chase slowly stepped away as time moved forward. I always believed there was going to be a better time.

Days became months, and the years kept moving forward.

You know, I have seen how quickly life can change.

My stroke taught me that in a way I never expected. One day I thought I had all the time in the world, and suddenly everything I knew changed. Time didn’t stop, even when my world felt like it did.

I think that is why I understand now how easy it is to believe there will always be another day.

There are places I still want to see. Conversations I want to have. Dreams that continue to tug at me.

I have been wondering how many times I have told myself, “I’ll do that later.”

Later sounds like such an innocent word, doesn’t it? We say it without thinking about how easily later can keep moving farther away.

I began to realize that while I was waiting for the right time, something else was waiting too.

My soul gets lonely when I don’t feed it.

I know that may sound like an unusual way to describe it, but it makes sense to me.

I thought the things that fed my soul could wait.

Now I see it differently.

I don’t want to race through life trying to fit everything in before time runs out. That isn’t what I mean at all. I simply don’t want the things that matter to me always waiting at the end of the line.

I keep thinking there is still time.

I hope there is.

Sometimes I can almost see it.

My toes are sinking into the warm sand as the waves roll toward me. Laughter surrounds me while the people I love are close enough to touch. Those dreams that once stepped away are finding their way back.

For just a moment, I let myself stand there and take it all in.

I keep thinking there is still time.

Now is the time to stop waiting for later.