Time Washes Away

I don’t know about you, but I’m having trouble keeping track of time during this pandemic period. Days go by with barely any change and I have developed a rhythm in my morning routine that is somewhat monotonous. One of my main indicators of what day it is, is Ben’s pill case with the names of the days on it.

The Peel

Ben also has no sense of time. The pill case keeps him on track, too. We produce a daily list every week with things to expect, but it is a fairly clear schedule - names of caregivers and when they are coming, doctor appointments, upcoming football games, and showers.

We battle over him taking showers twice a week. A week can go by and he is convinced that he just showered recently. Even with it written on the schedule, we have to jump through many hoops to get him to get wet. To his credit, though, showering is not a simple process - timing is critical so that he doesn’t accidentally wear his hearing aids into the water nor put them into his ears while they are still wet. I think his favorite time to take a shower is in the middle of the night if he can’t sleep. But, when he is sleeping well, he doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by it.

The Fruit

The pandemic has given me a little appreciation for Ben’s condition. In the past, I typically wouldn’t shower every day, but I would keep track in my mind which day I showered so I was sure to clean myself in the next day or so. But, because one day feels like the next, I am even starting to lose track of when I last showered. I feel like I need to write it on my calendar so I don’t start stinking!

Is there a benefit to being unconcerned with the passage of time? Other than needing to keep personal hygiene up to par, there is something calming about the fact that schedules and calendars are meaningless in our life. Perhaps we can rest in the moment and in what it brings, knowing that time will come and go as it pleases regardless of what we think about it.

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I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live, and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 (NET)