I am tethered. Every day, 11:50 a.m. slices into my life. I keep time by hours before 11:50, and hours after. I calculate minutes, distances, items in my shopping cart, all by how likely it is I will make it to 11:50.

To my daughter’s class.

Kindergarten.

I’ve done this several times before. I’ve sacrificed entire years to divided time, to disjointed activities, to rushed grocery trips, to making my 11:50 date with the front door of the school.

I keep forgetting.

I keep forgetting that for 9 straight months, I’ll be racing through errands, walking to the school several times a day, scheduling appointments for the very minute the kids leave for school so I’ll be ready for my 11:50 date.

It’s now almost October, and I’m finally getting more comfortable managing all those errands and appointments. I can run into Costco the minute they open at 10 and be done with three weeks worth of food in under 70 minutes. I can get chilly with the fiercest front office staff to get myself into all those doctor appointments I still have. You want to schedule a CT-scan? You’ve got 4 1/2 minutes, missy!

It’s too bad I don’t know when I’m going to die. Maybe I’d be racing around a little more trying to get all those eternal errands done right now. Maybe I’d make sure I’d picked up enough charity. Maybe I’d be at the temple the minute they opened to make sure I could get through. Maybe I’d be more efficient at checking in with the Lord. Maybe I’d be more insistent that my time get to be spent with my family.

Cuz’ that’s another date I’m pretty sure I can’t miss.