Four Minutes at 2:26 P.M.

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but 2:26 P.M. is the time that lasts a little longer than the rest. It’s the minute that lasts longer than a minute. A few minutes, in fact. 2:26 P.M. Pacific Time, that is.

Since that’s the time zone I was in when I made that wish.

I had made plenty of wishes in my life but none of them ever came true. I didn’t believe making wishes ever resulted in wishes coming true. I’d experienced plenty of failure. But that didn’t stop me from trying every time it came to me to make a wish.

It turned out that wishes can come true… if you possess the right thing. I found that rock, or what I thought was a rock, out in my yard. It was pure white and a strange shape. It was jammed into the dirt and hiding under some overgrown grass that the gardeners missed.

I brought it inside. It felt so smooth and nice in my hand and I had been so anxious and stressed lately. It was relaxing to keep in my hand. So, I did. All day.

I glanced at the clock. It was about time for me to start working. I opened my laptop and announced I had signed on. But the first meeting of the day didn’t occur until a half hour after I had logged on. And then the responsibilities of my team would be handed over to me. So, this first half hour of work, from 2:00 to 2:30… I could get away without doing much. It was my first half hour of work but my last half hour of freedom.

I’d usually try to just relax. Slow my breathing. Savor the last few precious moments before a hectic 10-hour shift began.

2:26 rolled around and it felt like the time just flew by. I wasn’t ready to start work in 4 minutes. I wasn’t mentally prepared.

“I wish this minute could just last a few minutes more.”

And that was when the owner of the rock appeared! It turned out it was part of his spine, flung about the earth by his enemies. This happened to many of his kind. Tortured by their enemies. Cursed to wander the world looking for the missing pieces of their spine. If found and wished upon, this pale blue being would grant that wish.

And that was what I wasted my wish on. My wish I didn’t know that I had. I made the minute of 2:26 P.M. Pacific Time last a few minutes more.

So, if anyone out there pays attention, it actually goes on for about 4 minutes. You may check the clock and check back in a couple minutes and feel like it hasn’t moved. That’s because it hasn’t. But not many people notice this time. Especially not in my time zone. It’s a fairly inconsequential time. Not even landing on an hour mark or a half hour mark. It’s quite an overlooked time. Not affecting the average lunch break or starting time for work or quitting time for work or really much of anything.

I suppose people in Colorado or Wyoming don’t notice it at 3:26. The people in Chicago or Des Moines or everyone of the good people of Minnesota likely don’t notice that long minute of 4:26… though they might if they’re going to finish work at 5:00 and they’re already watching the clock. To the 9-5 Clockwatchers of Minnesota, I apologize profusely. To those in New York and Philly and Atlanta, the masses have already clocked out of work by the time 5:26 hits. It may have recently made you think your commute home has shortened… but by 5 minutes… I’m sure they haven’t even noticed.

I wonder what you all think in England. Maybe the British kids with bedtimes of 10:30 benefit greatly from an extended 10:26 P.M. Hanging onto that last bit of freedom before you get tucked under the blankets. Relishing in that extended period of “being awake” before all the lights get turned out and you have to wait in darkness until the next day begins.

How about those of you in Bulgaria and your extended 12:26 A.M. and all of you in Georgia with that long 1:26 A.M.? I don’t know when “last call” is in the bars in those areas but I could imagine that may work in the favor of some of you. A little bit of extra time to decide on one last beer, one last glass of wine, one more vodka rocks.

I give a preemptive “you’re welcome” to all of you in Perth, dreading hearing that 5:30 A.M. alarm go off that prompts you to get ready to head to your job that you don’t care about. When you peel your eyes open and see 5:26 and hold on to the covers tight, savoring those last four minutes before you have to be an adult again, you get a little bit extra.

To the surfers in Auckland who want to catch just a few more waves before they got to head back and get on with their day, I think at 9:26 A.M. I afford you one extra wave before you got to pack up, shower off, and head over to the surf shop for your afternoon shift.

Now, that I think about it, those in Honolulu with the growling stomachs waiting for 12 to roll around so they can take their lunches, I apologize that a long 11:26 results in you waiting for a one-hour and four-minute hour before you can take that much needed break. And for those in Anchorage that ate a bit too much on their lunch break and need a little extra time to decompress before continuing with work, that elongated 1:26 might help quite a few of you.

I suppose now that I think about it, I didn’t really waste my wish. It does give me something I want and it even helps others out in the world. I’m sure it hurts others, but there’s no wish you could make that would make everyone happy. That would be impossible. I wonder how it's affected you out there. Have I inconvenienced you? Have I helped you? What has it changed about your life and your routine?

In the meantime, I will keep enjoying that extra peace I am afforded before I have to start my first work meeting. I will let it melt away as much stress as possible. I will let it break apart my anxiety into itty bitty pieces.

But I will not prepare food at 2:26 P.M. Pacific Time. Nor should you. You are at great and almost inevitable risk of overcooking and even burning your food. Best to just wait a few minutes. One of those minutes lasts a few minutes itself. Best to just wait several minutes.