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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Time Stops...

Saturday, November 2, 2013

The first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m. 
is the date and time 
to fall back from Daylight Saving Time 
to Standard Time in the United States. 

Time Stops... 
and backs up one hour. 


Oh, were that really possible in our lives, 
what would we change if we had one hour to relive? 


If the sands of time flipped over and an hour in our lives could be recreated, 
would we change anything? 


Would we go back to an hour forty-one years ago to  
an unexpected stop at a roadside tag sale 
along a country road in Tennessee? 
Would we change anything about buying 
the antique humpback mantle clock? 
Haggling with the seller? 
When a loved one first made a pun about my name 
being Judith? 
Calling our dear friend who was an antique dealer 
for advice about prices before we said, "Deal?" 
One of our first purchases together for our home as newlyweds? 
If we did, would that create a series 
of changes that took our lives down a different fork 
in time, creating a different present today? 



Would we relive an hour twenty-six years ago during the times 
we built our house, doing much of the work with our own hands? 
Would that have changed future time enough that this mantle 
I love would have been missed? 


The carving of a fruit and flower filled basket is perfect for this season of the year. 

Seeing it reminds me of all the good times 
with families and friends during special occasions. 
Memories of decorating it for those special occasions, 
memories of photos of loved ones standing before it. 
Memories of several loved ones who are no longer with us. 
No, I would not change an hour that caused the mantle to be missed. 


If the clock faces were bare, no hands marking the hours, 
allowing us to recapture an hour in our lives, 
what hour would it be? 


What hour would we choose? 
9:52?  12:36?  10:10? 


If only we could see clearly the perfect time to choose... 
If only a mirror could show us a clear reflection into the past and future 
to guide us in our selection... 


There is no magic mirror to guide us. 

What would I change? 
Nothing in the past. 
Too many precious memories that could also 
be changed may be lost. 
All of the decisions we've made in our lives 
created our lives over the years. 

Who we are, what we've done, are made 
from interconnected, interwoven threads 
that have far more to keep than to lose. 


So, as I look in the mirror of life, 
I choose to see and to celebrate the good 
that came from our past decisions. 

Would you change anything? What? Why? 
~~~~~~~~~