When my husband and I purchased our ‘dream house’ we were middle-aged, well into our careers (my spouse is a police chief and I’m a writer) and we were more than ready to move into our new home. This house was special and we would choose our furniture carefully. We had been married for a long time (especially by today’s standards) and wanted our home to reflect our years of experience of getting to know each other and getting to know ourselves. The first thing we purchased (after the essentials like bed, sofa, and chairs) was a floor clock. We chose a floor clock over a big screen TV set or an entertainment center. We wanted something that would commemorate our marriage of 25 years and something that would be a beautiful reminder of the most precious thing we have. Time. A big screen TV would not count precious minutes, but would eat them up. A big screen TV would not make me think of my grandmother’s floor clock that stood in the hall silent and regal (to my seven-year-old eyes) until it struck the hour and filled my ears with the Westminster chime. When the cherry Seth Thomas grandfather clock was delivered we had them put it in the entrance hall. A free brass heirloom name plate came with the clock on which I could have engraved anything that I wanted. I thought long and hard on what I would want our clock to ‘say’ and I settled for a quote by Arthur Schopenhauer, “Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth; every fresh morning a little youth; every going to rest and sleep a little death.” However, I was limited to only a certain amount of characters and since the original quote would not fit on the name plate I had the inscription read” “Each day is a little Life.” The first time I heard the clock chime I had the sensation that time was standing still. Without all the distracting noise of television or a computer game, I could embrace the present or bask in the past. The tick-tock is soothing and just the simple act of looking at the time becomes an event to be anticipated and not dreaded. For my way of thinking owning a grandfather clock is not only an investment in time; it’s an investment in my time.