Slow Like The Sinking Summer Sun

Prompt: What is chronic or inflamed in your life? 

Lately I've really realized how fast time flies and how close I really am to the cusp of adulthood. This past weekend I was back in my hometown, and like most hometowns, it always seems like the land time doesn't touch. The infamous monuments, the beat down back roads, the inside jokes that still make you laugh. It's all accompanies you with a comforting embrace of safety and security. But as I walked along the lake, feeling the hazey summer sun sink behind beautiful houses that aren't mine, I was reminded how much time really has passed. It feels like just yesterday I was graduating high school and feeling giddy about college plans. And now I'm soon entering my last year of undergraduate and looking into graduate programs. My point? Life stands still for no one. It doesn't give you a time out to let you figure out your current dilemma. You have to master the act of rolling with the punches; which, for a recovering control freak, is easier said than done. People change, relationships rearrange, priorities shift. What's the common denominator in this equation? The passage of TIME. Time slips away much like a handful of sand. This used to drive me crazy; I was constantly swimming against the current to slow things down. So many people to see with so little time. Micromanaging became a past time of mine. But recently I've discovered that quality of time spent completely overrides quantity. This seems to contradict the concept that time flies. It's in our nature to try to squeeze in as many things into our short days as possible. That has begun to bother me...I want my relationships to be effortless not scheduled. How do we do this? How do we slow time down so we can be effortless and casual? And how do we juggle our school, jobs, future planning along with our relationships? These questions have become inflamed for me recently. I think we should all search for tactics to do this; tactics to slow down and smell the roses. This weekend I started on that endeavor. I successfully pulled an all nighter with my mom and wondered onto a random beach to watch the sunrise. (If you haven't done this yet, please do. It's completely worth the lack of sleep. Minus trespassing, I probably shouldn't condone that)  Later that day, I was with one of my best friends along the boardwalk and watched the sun sink down while we ate ice cream from the ice cream truck. These past few days literally made me re-appreciate my life and the act of slowing down. Lets enjoy this crazy, unpredictable ride before its too late. Shotty front seat!