I understand this movement of time and the reasons my children must embrace every moment away from us. I understand it, because I used to be that 20-year-old who longed to leave home again, to “adult” as they say. In 1992, I knew my parents mourned my leaving for college. I recognized and felt the tension of their desire that I stay and my strong desire to leave. And I knew that I must leave if I ever wanted to become a whole person. Wholeness. It makes me think of Jesus’ mother, Mary.

In the midst of these random summer games, I grew up alongside my siblings and neighbors. We played until it grew dark, or until we were called inside for dinner or to watch The Muppet Show. We did not pay attention to the passing of time. It might have been the closest experience of kairos that we ever knew. Kairos is a Greek word philosopher Paul Tillich (1886-1965) explained as “God’s time.” Also referred to as “deep time,” kairos meant we lived in the present moment, unrelated to the past or the future. It allowed us the freedom to be our true selves. Then, I did not have any concept of myself as an individual, except for wanting to grow taller. My true self, or who I really am as God created me to be, expressed herself without hesitation, naturally and unconsciously when I was very young. Then, as I grew up, my true self was harder to find.