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11/21/2007: "Grandparents"

It's interesting how the pace of time quickens with age.

The days and weeks fly by now. Each new obstacle and goal post whipping past me in a frenzy. Win, win, lose ... etc. Success and milestones in my life are now marked not by years/birthdays but life events. Marriage, first home purchase, children (?)

And yet, when I move from the hustle-and-bustle of my daily routine -- when I go back to my origins I wonder if I'm living my life too quickly.

This winter, I took two weeks off to return back to my birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan. I haven't been back in a decade and my time away has brought about subtle changes in the scenery, but dramatic changes in my grandparents.

Sitting with my grandparents in their respective homes, I couldn't help feeling a bit exasperated (angered?) by the passage time. It's hard to see the effects of age on people you love. Harder still is the mental shock; the juxtaposition of the images and memories that once shone so brightly in your mind's eye and the here-and-now green-gilded reality.

Am I making the right choices; the right balance? Am I growing with purpose or just growing forgetful?