For the espressophile, the autumnal solstice does not announce its upcoming arrival with the leaves refashioning their colors nor even the cool weather beckoning you to don that old cable knit sweater you’ve had tucked away for the past seven months. For the espressophile, autumn emerges when Starbucks releases their much-anticipated Pumpkin Spice Latte. Topped with whipped cream, the first sip douses your tongue in a kaleidoscope of flavors, each one waltzing across your taste buds.

As lavishing the experience of downing the drink may be, I hardly doubt that I would enjoy the five-dollar coffee as much if it were available year round. Part of the allure comes from the limited time that the latte is on the market. It’s neither the addition of pumpkin nor the subtle hint of clove that renders the drink valuable, but rather the time it’s at our disposal. Time calls for the renaissance of Starbucks’ famous drink, and time is what tucks it away until the next year.

When considering what is valuable in life, the typical answers of family, friends, and all of the stuff your parents would be proud to hear you say, come up. In actuality, we all know that money is valuable as well, but that’s not the most appropriate thing to say when Grandma asks you what you hope to get from life.

But these are merely tangible ideas. More valuable than money, I would venture to say that something as abstract as time is far more precious. You can always make more money, get a better job, buy a nicer car, but once time is lost, it is gone forever.

Life isn’t AT&T. There’s no rollover minutes here. So why don’t we enjoy whatever time we are experiencing at this moment?

I remember being in elementary school, and all I could look forward to was becoming a middle schooler, getting to change classes at each obnoxious ring of the bell. As ridiculous or embarrassing as this memory may be, I used to want homework. I actually desired to do homework. Yet, as I wonder whatever brought me to wish that upon myself, I realize that it was because I wanted to grow up. Despite Peter Pan being my favorite Disney movie, I never wanted to be a child forever. I was Wendy. I wanted to grow up. I still want to grow up, but as I look back on my pre-adolescent years, I wonder why I didn’t appreciate it as much I could’ve.

Barefoot summer days, dancing under the spray of the sprinkler; the excitement of placing a Toy Story Band-Aid on a newly skinned knee; solving grandiose mysteries such as the case of “Where Mom Hides The Halloween Candy.”

I loved those moments. But, in spite of how much I enjoyed them, I didn’t savor that time. While some may say that dreams are a good thing, I spent so much time daydreaming about my future, that I forgot to relish the time I had then.

And while I have a yearning nostalgia for my childhood, I am still committing the same crime. I do not appreciate the time I have now. Soon I’ll be looking back at high school, wondering why I spent all of my time either wishing to be in the past or stressing myself about college.

Things become more desirable when we look at the availability of the item. People wouldn’t go crazy for the Pumpkin Spice Latte if it were available year round. Just the same, middle school, high school, or whatever stage you are in life is only around for a limited time. I often hear people saying they wish they enjoyed high school more, or people telling new parents, “Enjoy it while you can. They grow up fast.”

It’s true. We do grow up fast. Time isn’t waiting around for us, and we’re practically throwing it away every time we try to capture it.

Time’s expensive. Instead of becoming absorbed by the idea of it, we we should squeeze out every creamy drop of experience we can out of it.