Time is A Privilege

We were waiting for traffic lights to turn green. The pavement was treacherous with snow as smooth as glass.

The stranger mentioned California. I turned around to see who was talking about the sun. Well! To me, California is synonymous with the sun.

ME: Did you live in California?

HER: Yes.

ME: Why did you come back?

HER: My mother was sick. I came back thinking that it would be quick. That was 15 years ago.

We went our separate ways once we entered the supermarket. That was some time back, in January and I can’t get rid of the 15 years out of my mind. Sometimes we find it easier to talk to strangers.

Time allocation. She returned home to Canada to take care of her mother, thinking that she would die soon, only to find that her time allocation was off. I can’t judge her because I’m not perfect. I consciously or unconsciously allocate time to people and things.

We are very careless with time allocation. When the boat that is our life starts leaking, we are quick to say: ‘I wish I could die.’ A co-worker that makes the office a living hell might get your time allocation: ‘I wish she was dead.’

In moments of depression and desperation, we forget that time is not ours to allocate. Whatever you might think of her, she’s a good daughter because when she realized the old lady’s time had not come, she stayed in Winnipeg, a city notorious for cold weather. She did not fly back to sunny California.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.