It’s hard to believe it is almost Easter.

We blinked.

And that new year we were all celebrating just yesterday?

Well, that year is already a fourth of the way over.

If you made a New Year’s Eve resolution, did you stick to it, or did you abandon it weeks ago because it was harder than you realized?

Maybe it was a resolution you wish you wouldn’t have made.

But don’t worry.

You can always make another one in only a matter of blinks.

It’s rather frightening how quickly life passes us by — especially the older we get.

I heard this saying plenty of times while I was growing up, but I never believed it.

I thought to myself, how can someone else’s time go faster than another’s?

It’s the same exact clock and the same exact day.

It’s true, though.

Everyone who ever told you this was not lying.

The older we get, the quicker time passes.

And unfortunately, we have absolutely no say in it.

Taking the batteries out of our clocks won’t stop the hands from still turning.

Staying up all night to gain a few more productive hours will not make it appear as if we have gained any additional time.

Our world could be falling apart … and yet, the sun will continue to rise.

Society will continue to go about its day … unaware you are completely shattered inside.

No, time doesn’t stop for anyone, even though we think it should.

When we lose someone important to us, we wonder how others could possibly be smiling, laughing.

Why isn’t everybody stopping what they’re doing?

Why isn’t everyone — or anyone — acutely aware of our pain?

Why?

Sorry. Sometimes I think (and write) out loud.

But Easter always makes me interpret life this way.

I can remember when Easter was a happy time, full of promise.

Jesus rising from the dead? There is no greater moment in history, other than perhaps his being born.

Easter was always about coloring and hiding eggs for the children.

It was about making up their baskets and filling them with items you would never want them to consume in such quantity the remainder of the year.

Easter meant buying new outfits for church, sharing a family dinner.

It was the official arrival of spring, the rebirth of nature.

It’s a beautiful holiday.

But nowadays, it just saddens me, because it is a reminder of the people I have lost, people that I miss.

It makes me think about my best friend who died way too soon.

I miss her.

Even though we hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years, she was still a huge part of my life.

She was one of the few people I was fortunate enough to call my friend.

I don’t have many ­ — I never did.

And the couple of friends I did have … those rare individuals who looked past all of my flaws and got to really know me and still liked me?

They are gone, too.

There’s no explanation as to why. Why each one died before they were even in their early 50s.

Cancer took most of them away.

Cancer is why I spend almost every waking moment alone.

There really isn’t anything for me to do with my time.

The time that goes by in … a blink.

So, please, take a moment and call or text those whom you consider to be your friend.

Stop by their house, or bring them a homemade meal, a dessert or a six pack, if that happens to be your thing.

Send them a card letting them know exactly how much they truly mean to you. Tell them.

In one form or another, tell them — before that moment comes along and you no longer have that luxury.

Easter usually reminds me of this.

And I guess that’s the message I wanted to impart to you today.

Friendships can sometimes be taken for granted. Everyone thinks that a friend will always be there.

We are conditioned to believe there will always be a tomorrow.

And because we think we have more time, the phone calls become fewer.

The visits, less frequent.

But then we blink.

And they are no longer there.

Remember, our families love us because they are supposed to.

It’s like an unwritten rule or something.

But a friend? A friend is someone who doesn’t have to love us. They just do.

I honestly hope that at least one person who is reading this will take that minute to stop and send that text or make that call.

Let them know you are thinking about them.

And if they ask you why?

Tell them … because it’s almost Easter.

(Stenger is the community editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times newspapers. She can be contacted by e-mail at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com.)