What We’re Really Running Out Of Isn’t Money  It’s Days

As the year approaches its end, something becomes very clear to me nobody really asks, “How much did you earn this year?” but everyone asks, “How many leave days do you still have left?” We don’t get jealous of someone’s salary, but we do feel something when we hear someone has more time off than we do. I work in a laboratory, and most days feel the same reports, samples, long hours, constant focus. Life moves forward outside the lab, but inside, time feels paused. And then one day, during a small break, I opened my phone gallery and started scrolling through old photos. That’s when reality hit harder than any workload my child has grown, and I didn’t even notice it happening in real time. The height, the face, the expressions… all changing slowly, while I was too busy working, too busy rushing, too busy being exhausted. I see my family every day, but I don’t really notice them. I’m present, but I’m not fully there. I keep telling myself I’ll spend more time with them “when things slow down,” but life never slows down on its own. Work continues. Shifts continue. Responsibilities continue. Only time moves on quietly, permanently. That’s when I realised something simple but painful: at the end of the year, we don’t care who earned more, we care who still has time left. Because money always finds a way to return, but time never does. Paychecks repeat. Childhood doesn’t. Work will always wait for us, but the people we love won’t stay the same forever.

In the end, we don’t regret not earning enough.
We regret not living enough.