I drive my 14-year-old twin granddaughters to school most mornings. They sit in the back seat. It’s a 10-minute ride—just enough time for chats about growing up, the travails of adolescence, how life was for me when I was their age.

I say something. And wait for a reply. Nothing.

I glance in the rearview mirror. Each sports earbuds.

I could admonish them. But I don’t. I activate my classical playlist.

We ride on, snug in our bubbles.

Here we are.

“Thanks, Grandy. I love you.”

I love you too. Have a great and wonderful day.

So we didn’t chat. Or didn’t for the first couple weeks.

I’d drive home, brooding, thinking: Yesterday they were five. Today they’re fourteen. Tomorrow they’ll be in college.

I went to college. I majored in philosophy. I’ve forgotten nearly everything except one belated lesson.

A year out of college I called Dr. Arthur Holmes, chair of the philosophy department, to express my appreciation for his lectures and guidance. He was grateful.

And then I confessed that I had wasted a lot of time and golden opportunities. I was sorry.

I was hoping for exoneration. “I thought you did quite well, above average actually.” Instead, he said: “Well, you know, there’s no time like the present.”

Really? That’s all I get from the wisest man I ever knew? A cliché?

I wasn’t exonerated. I was deflated.

For years I’ve been reading “This Day in History.” Each dispatch presents 8-10 brief stories. I’m filling gaps in my knowledge. What for? Just for me?

And then I remember: There’s no time like the present.

A few weeks ago the girls hopped in the car and before they could pop buds into their ears, I said: What do you know about Helen Keller?

They knew a little. I knew more.

Would you like to know what she turned out to be?

“Sure.”

(They do love to learn.)

And now they know Keller became an advocate of women’s suffrage, a pacifist, and a socialist.

The next day: What do you know about Albert Einstein?

They knew a little. I knew more.

Would you like to know what he turned out to be?

“Sure.”

And now they know that Einstein opposed nuclear weapons.

What do you know about the Ides of March, Armistad, the Alamo, Selma, James Rumsey, Barbie Doll?

The ride has become a journey.

_______________________

See Paula’s “Peaches & Daffodils” on the home page. Posted March 26, 2023