Don't let time slip away: A lesson in prioritizing family

Society tells you to marry later. Have kids later. That your career is everything.

So you marry later. Have kids later.

You don’t realize it’s a lie until you’re out of time.

Time is fragile. It’s the most precious asset you can never own.

A little too late

Your biggest regret is realizing that you never spent enough time with your kid(s).

You watch them being born, then when they turn one you send them off to daycare because that’s what society teaches.

Next thing you know, your one-year-old is 18 yrs old.

She’s headed for college.

Your home feels empty.

You start to wonder whether all your sacrificed moments at the altar of a corporation were worth it.

Your age begins to show—in your face, in your movement, and in your memory.

Now you only see your kid five times a year mainly during her holiday break. She’s out living her life not paying much attention to you as you did to her when she was a kid.

She graduates. Starts a new job. Now you hardly see her. She’s pursuing her career just as you did.

A few years go by.

She’s now getting married. You cry because you cannot believe she is 27 already.

You remember holding her after her first breath in the hospital like it happened yesterday. Where did the time go?

Your time is ending

You’ll be retiring soon.

You reminisce on her childhood and how you missed most of her life because you sent her away to a stranger, whether at daycare, a nanny, or school her whole life.

She’s pregnant. Gives birth a few months later. You meet your granddaughter.

Your memory floods with every single moment you had with your daughter.

You vow there and then that you’ll not make the same mistake with your granddaughter.

You try to spend the remaining time with your granddaughter the way you should have with your daughter.

If there is redemption, this is it for you.

Otherwise, when you’re too old to live in your condo, you’ll be placed in an old-age home where a stranger will take care of you for the remainder of your time. Because your daughter is too busy pursuing her career, just as you were.

End this madness

Break this perpetual cycle society has created.

Don’t chase society’s vacuous clout for they are all meaningless. But cherish the slow moments with your loved ones.

Time is fragile.

For when it’s gone, it never returns. Yet occasionally you’re granted an opportunity for redemption—to make right what once was lost.

This is a reminder to love deeply and hold closely your loved ones.

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About me

I’m IJ. I’m a philosopher, product designer and martial artist.

I’ve spent the last 6 years working on becoming antifragile. I write to share my learnings on living an action-oriented life.

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