It feels like I blinked and five years disappeared

My brother and his family visited from Texas this week for the first time in five years. Between work, money, life, and distance, we don’t get to see each other nearly as often as we’d like. So the visit was only a few days, and now suddenly it’s over and everybody’s headed home again. And I don’t know why it’s hitting me so hard tonight. I remember my niece as a baby. Now she’s 22, married, and announced during the visit that she’s pregnant. My brother has gray hair now. I have gray hair now. It honestly feels like I blinked and five years disappeared. Maybe that’s the strange part about getting older. You become more aware that time keeps moving whether you’re paying attention or not. I’m just sitting here tonight wondering where all the years went.