Time Is More than Money

This week’s column was going to be about patience, but before I could write it I received a text from my wife, Jill. She asked if I had used our credit card at a place where I don’t normally shop. The answer was a resounding no.

My wife handles many of our bills. This includes our credit card. She has an app on her phone for most everything, including our credit card company. She gets a notification when our card is used and can verify the purchase. This time, the notification made her take notice. When she clicked on the charge, she saw that it had just been placed.

Jill works at a small, private school as a secretary (and “nurse,” office manager, “therapist,” and more!), and it would be difficult for her to deal with the charge during the day. Plus, she dislikes talking on the phone because she does it so much at work.

So I called and spoke with a credit-card representative. She put a hold on the charge, canceled Jill’s card, and issued a new one. She told me it was common for thieves to use a card number for a small purchase to see if it goes unnoticed. If it does, they max out the card.

I kept thinking about that conversation. Life is difficult enough with everyday struggles, but to have someone intentionally make your life more difficult is just crazy. Every day I go to work to earn money to pay bills. I do it to support my family and to prepare for the possibility that one day Jill will not be able to work. Jill does the same. We work hard for our money, and the thought of someone coming along and stealing it infuriates me.

Then a thought flashed across my mind. It was that old saying: Time is money. Huntington’s disease is going to steal time from Jill’s life, probably shortening her life span by several decades. In her case, time is not money. As Karma Tshiteem, the Bhutanese secretary for Gross National Happiness, says: “Time is life.”

Just as we stay vigilant when someone is trying to steal our money, we also have to focus on living life as fully as possible. Life is precious.

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