Dan's-Life Savings Time

Did you set your clocks back an hour on Saturday night? Or did you start to make the rounds through the house only to get thrown into a funk when you came to the coffee maker and couldn't remember how the damned thing worked?  "Screw it",  I said. I'll just do the math in my head every time I see a clock that isn't set right. Nah, that gets old, better get the manual out. Damn, where's the manual?

It didn't really go that way at our house. I don't remember changing any clocks, but somebody did, including the coffee maker. I just had to change the clock in my car. Yeah, I know, I got off easy.

This whole Daylight Savings Time ritual we go through twice a year is kind of a joke if you think about it. Time is time- you can't really save it. You can only spend it. And you only get so much time  in your life, so even if you somehow manage to save it, you can only spend it as it occurs--minute by minute.

But what if there was such a thing as personal time-savings accounts where you could save time now then use it later when you want to. Mine would be called Dan's-life Savings Time.  Kind of like a  401k for time.You get to save time by avoiding activities or behaviors that are a waste of your time early in your life (when you think you have all the time in the world) and use it later in your life (when time is running out). Here's how it would work:

Let's say I got invited to a party in college that I didn't think would be much fun so I decide not to go. Instead, I just sat home and did nothing. Later,  I heard from people who attended that the party was a bust. The party lasted 4 hours so I got to put 4 hours in my savings bank. After earning  interest, I now have 344 hours that I can use at the age 61, to do something I really want to do.

Here's another scenario: Instead of spending hours worrying if I would pass an important test, or if my sick friend would pull through their surgery (" it's just an open-heart, they're a dime a dozen these days"), I'd spend my time doing nothing else like staring at the ceiling  or cracking my knuckles. Again, time saved equals time to be spent later.

I think I'm on to something.

Too bad I didn't think about this sooner though. After all, it's 2013, not 1974. I'm 61, not 21. My work career is winding down not ramping up. My body is like a high-mileage car..it runs good, but could be expensive to repair.

And come to think of it, I've never been one to sit around and do nothing. Even when I wasn't sure what to do, I did something. And I'd like to think that while I can't go back and re-allocate time, I can certainly make better use of the time I have left.

Like setting the clocks back an hour in the fall and forward in the spring.

"Honey, where's the manual for that damn coffee maker?"