Where Did the Time Go?

How does time fly by so quickly?
I blinked. Now they are grown and gone.
Friends and family are frozen in time.
They just married. How can their children

be grown adults? I remember them as
toddlers. Where did the time go?
I blinked. Now they are grown and gone.
Moved to a different state now too.

How did I fly to Heidelberg and study
three years there? How too did I
complete five degrees in German?
I blinked. And another fifty years.

It seems another lifetime when
I began teaching and still another
when I retired. Where did the time go?
My former students remain frozen in time.

I blinked. Now they have graduated
and moved on to their lives. Married.
Living in other states too. Another
reunion now? I blinked and life went on.

We stay in touch. So many details and
memories. Heard from another former
student today. Nostalgia. I was the
consummate professional with high standards.

I blinked. Now they are grown and gone.
It is well for the future when I recall with
fondness those former students who
left me full of hope for the future.

They accomplished greatness.
I blinked and life went on.
I blinked and smiled with satisfaction.
I blinked now. A job well done.