Time Marches Slowly

Trey Smith

When something stands on your horizon that you aren't looking forward to or you dread, time seems to race by. However, when you're anxious to hear a piece of good news, time seems to march by ever...so...s-l-o-w-l-y.

It's not that time shifts its definition depending on the situation or circumstance; it's just that we perceive time differently.

Take, for example, my brother. He's been unemployed for quite some time. He interviewed for a position recently and was told that he would be notified of the decision -- yea or nay -- in one or two days tops. Well, two days passed and no word. On the third or fourth day, my brother called the potential employer. Oh, sorry, the fellow told him. It turns out there were another two candidates that needed to be interviewed, but the decision definitely would come in the next day or two.

It didn't. So, Sean has had to agonized for the better part of two weeks. As he mentioned to me the other day, time seems to be oozing at the speed of the thickest molasses!

Della and I know how he feels. We interviewed for a subsidized apartment in Westport at the end of May. Since our names are at the top of the list, it supposedly was only going to take a week or two to finalize the lease. Yet, here we are entering the latter days of July and nothing has been finalized yet. We think we should be able to get things wrapped up this week, but we thought the same thing last week, the week before and the week before that. We have yet to be told by anyone why this supposedly quick process has dragged on for weeks. All we hear is "be patient" and things will sort themselves out.

We did receive some good news at the end of last week. Della had applied for disability and Medicaid during the first week of April. Though we had to wait four agonizing months for a decision, we learned last week that both applications have been approved. It means $356 more each month and, just as important, Della can finally receive the follow-up care for her condition.

That said, until we know where we will be moving to, it makes it kind of difficult to schedule doctor's appointments. We don't want her to start receiving care from one specialist and then, if she needs to switch her primary care physician, be referred to a different specialist to begin the process all over again.

So we wait as time marches ever...so...s-l-o-w-l-y.