“How did it get so late so soon?”
― Dr. Seuss

The thing about time is that it is one of our most valuable commodities and we waste it as if it is an endless renewable resource. For instance I just watched Achey Breaky Heart Part 2. That is some valuable time I will never get back.

In all seriousness, time well wasted is not wasted time (To clarify The New Billy Ray Cyrus video is wasted time) but we put a lot of value on things that matter a lot less than our time.

In 2011 Justin Timberlake starred in a movie called In Time. Set in the future the premise was that time was the international currency. Though J.T. was appropriately charming the movie didn’t win any awards but the theme “Time is money, no time to waste” struck a chord.

A couple of nights ago I watched the movie About Time with my husband. I had seen the advance screening a couple of months ago at the theater and City TV interviewed me directly afterwards and I was a blubbering mess. I decided to watch it again with Kirk and this time I cried even harder. At one point I sobbed so hard Kirk was holding my hand and wiping my tears. I won’t ruin the movie for those of you who haven’t watched but I will say when I watch it I think about my Dad who was taken from our family way too soon. He died a week short of his 40th birthday when I was sixteen. The one thing I have wished for over the years is that we had more time. A minute, an hour, a day. I wish he had met Kirk and got to know our children. There will never be more time. Alas the saying “we don’t have the luxury of time”

About Time follows 21-year-old Tim Lake (the quirky and quietly charming Domhnall Gleeson) as he discovers he can travel in time… The night after another disappointing New Year party, Tim’s father (Bill Nighy) tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim cannot change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his life-so he decides to make his world a better place and to him that means getting a girlfriend. Ironically it turns out to be quite a task. Tim moves from the Cornwall coast to London to work as a lawyer and Tim finally meets the beautiful but insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). They hit it off immediately but an unfortunate time-travel incident means he’s never met her at all. After a lot trial and error time travel they meet again for the very first time and Tim is able to quickly win Mary’s heart. Tim then uses the power of time to create the perfect romantic proposal, to save his wedding from the worst best-man speeches, to save his best friend from professional ruin and to get his pregnant wife to the hospital in time for the birth of their daughter. As his out of the ordinary life unfolds, Tim finds out that his unique gift can’t save him from grief, sorrow and ups and downs that touch all of our families. There are huge obstacles to the success of time travel making it a dangerous game to play with. About Time is a poignant comedy about love and time travel, which leads you on a journey back in time and then forward again leaving you with the very real revelation that making the most out of life simply means making the most of your time.

Valentines Day is coming up, love it or hate it, it comes every February 14. My challenge to you is to not stress yourself out trying to find the perfect gift to show how much you care one day out of the year. Give the people you love the very best gift of all…your time. Put your phone down, shut off your laptop, be present. Show the people you love that time with them is the most important gift at all!

“Time is what we want most,but what we use worst.”
― William Penn