Mini Chronology

Today is the 2nd of January. Traditionally, this is a date that has always filled me with dread for some reason. I attribute it to the strange phenomenon that is the passing of time at a certain point in one's life at what seems like a rapid rate. Perhaps because as a child, Christmas was hands down, my favourite time of the year and I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Advent calendar, rehearsals for plays and finally, the appearance of the magical tree resplendent with the finest tinsel and fairy lights to be found in the shops of 80's Limerick City.

And then after the tortuously slow crawl of the proceeding months, Christmas Day was over in a blur of  discarded wrapping paper and late night sneaky turkey & stuffing sandwiches. Suddenly the new year was upon us, full of empty promises and unrealistic expectations. I could just about deal with the advent of New Year's Day with it's strange new date to memorise.
The 2nd of January, however, always brings it home to me, that the new year is well and truly under way and just how quickly time seems to be skipping merrily by. This year I will be (hard swallow) 32. That is quite a high number. It is now 18 years since my first alcoholic drink. That means I have been drinking for as long as it has taken some babies on this planet to reach adulthood. Christ.
And speaking of Christ, it has been 20 years since I was confirmed in the Catholic faith, pledging not to touch a drop of alcohol until I turned 18 myself ( as you can see, I didn't quite manage that task, much like the vast majority of the population I imagine). Two whole decades. Wow.

And when you have a baby, time seems to move faster than the speed of light. I look at Mini toddling around the place now and I cannot really remember her when she was very small. I know at one stage I could carry her comfortably in one arm. I can recall this because it impressed my aunt greatly that when she came to visit,I was able to make tea for us whilst cradling a newborn Mini. Time moves so fast for me that sometimes I actually believe that the 90s were only 10 years ago. My brain seems to have forgotten there was a decade in between. This probably all links in with my arrested development and inability to accept that I am plunging headway through my 30s, which I blogged about here-The Twirties

But seriously, time just continues to progress at breakneck speed. I'll be 40 before I know it! Just to reinforce my anguish at its relentless march, I discovered today that this song is 20 years old this year. WTF?