Does anyone else lay awake worrying about the speedy passage of time?!

[MarvellousMidgeMaisel]

I am 43, DH is 55 and DD is 7, we have a really happy family unit and a great relationship with parents-and although we're not without our worries, we are lucky.

I know everything seems amplified in the middle of the night- but I am exhausted today because I woke up in the night panicking about how fast time is going. The last 7 years have gone by in a blur (as happens with small children) and in the last few years my parents have gone from active and relatively youthful to showing signs of old age in what seems like the blink of an eye.
I am lucky enough to still have grandparents, but they are now in their 90's and very poorly, and I am kicking myself for not making more time for them when they were younger.

As there is quite an age gap between me and DH- there's another worry, I literally have palpitations panicking about anything happening to him and I just can't believe that in 5 years he'll be 60!

I guess the fact that we lost a good year of family time due to covid has a big part to play, but does anyone else feel like this? How do I make time slow down a bit and stop this late night dread?!

I do, but it comforts me up to know that the whole human race is in it together. Billions have gone before me, lived their lives and exhaled their final sighs. What probably troubles me most is the thought of leaving my kids behind navigating life without my support or guidance. I often have pangs of worry about their future. Not knowing what the future holds for them. Wars, authoritarianism, revolutions, poverty, pandemics, injury etc. I wish I'd had one more so they would have each others support. 😩

Time moves slowly when you're a kid because a year is such a big proportion of your life. As you get older, a year becomes a smaller and smaller proportion of your life and so time appears to speed up. It happens to everyone.

I've got a clear memory of sitting down at the age of 10 and thinking Oh my God, I've lived 10% of my life already!

Every now and then I have the same thought but the % gets bigger.

I wonder if I'll live to 100...

It's good to have a perspective on it, so you live life to the full, as it goes so quickly.

I'm the same age as my Nanna was when she died. It scares me sometimes that I could just drop down dead whilst making a cup of tea, just like she did.

Yes. My very active, youthful dad reminded me last week that it's his 80th birthday next year, and I went completely cold.

My DGP all died in their early 80s, and they were OLD (to my mind, anyway).

I'm just very conscious now that although he is very sprightly, a diagnosis or a fall could change things rapidly.

Only today I was thinking where is the time going and how much quicker time is going now! I am 52 and have a soon to be 12 year old DD.

I’ve been watching One Day on Netflix and lovely to reminisce at the 80s and 90s but also scary too as the 90s to me really seems like yesterday!!

Yes. I terrify myself doing maths back to particular events and then add that time forward to me being 93 and probably no longer here. Had my DCs at 39 and 42, so feel resigned to probably not having long with DGCs.

But I love @hitchingawagontoastar’s post because the whole life and time thing is completely bonkers when you think about it. All you can ever do is enjoy the moment you are in.

No. I do pray Euthanasia will be legalised in the UK as I worry about suffering in pain or lingering in a half life in a nursing home. I think about this everyday. Briefly.

100% agree

I am just like you with very similar age gap. I live in fear of losing DH and my mom.

Yes @MarvellousMidgeMaisel we'll all be dead soon.

Do the things you want to do!

Can I just add that time flying by can also be time blindness and adhd related. Adrian chiles talks about there being more time in each moment on meds…. Suspect motherhood and perimenopause exacerbates this both adhd and time flying. Overwhelm is another classic symptom. Of both. Though both could be entirely unrelated too of course.

I remember someone saying that when your young time seems to go slowly and you have endless amounts and then when you get older it is like the sand in an timer that you suddenly see running out too quickly. I think this is true,

My main concern at the moment is that my teenage DDs seem to slipping away from me and it won't be long before they leave home and that will make me really sad.

However, I'm also wishing time away at the moment as I hate my job and DD is doing GCSEs, but next year when I can leave work and there are no big exams I will want it to slow right down.