Where is the wisdom when we need it?

As I get older, I am beginning to be more appreciative and more possessive of time, even though I know that no one really possesses it.  I have slowed down not because I am slower, but because I was going too fast.  In the 11 years that we have had our granddaughter, the time has passed so quickly that when I see her my first feeling is sadness that she is growing so fast and my 2nd feeling is joy that she is growing so fast.  Ambiguous feelings about time.  As each season passes, I can't help but ask myself 'what can I do to make this time special because how many do I have left?'  I know my children think it rather morbid, but I see my parents aging and know that I will not have them forever and also seeing myself in them 25 years from now is rather sobering.  Makes you want to sort out and devote yourself only to those pursuits that are very meaningful which also makes you realize how trivial almost everything really is.  There are very few truly important things in life and it is very sad for many of us to realize that years have gone by that may have been largely wasted.  I think of the books I still promise myself to read (or reread), books I want to write, people I want to talk to, gardens I want to grow, bread yet to bake, socks to knit, rugs to weave, pickles to make, stories to hear from my parents.  Why do we become so wise 2/3rds into our lives when we could have used the wisdom a long time ago?--a very bad trick to play on humanity.   Robert Frost is such a good poet to read now.