The Gift of Time
For years I struggled trying to find that "perfect" gift for my parents. Every birthday, every Mothers Day, every Fathers Day...I wanted to find "THAT" perfect gift I thought would make my mom and dad happy. They are SO cute, they would just ALWAYS say, "Don't buy us anything...we already have EVERYTHING we need”. I’ve got to say I think I got pretty creative over the years making them picture calendars, homemade painted coffee mugs (Best Mom- Best Dad etc) , framed family photos…But it was always a struggle to find something new and creative that said I LOVE YOU!
As the years passed and as mom and dad grew older I FINALLY realized what that "PERFECT" gift was for them!!! They had actually been throwing "hints" all along. All they REALLY wanted was the gift of my time! I have always been blessed to be close to my parents but came to the realization that they really just enjoyed spending time with me more than any gift I could ever buy!
I am SO GLAD I figured this out before my dad had his stroke 2 years ago! I am SO glad that dad and I were able to make those shopping trips to his favorite health food stores. He LOVED taking me to his favorite nutrition store so he could read labels with me and give me advice on the healthiest choices. I am SO glad that I could take mom to the mall (She loves shopping) or to the movies or a play.
Since dad suffered a massive stroke in December 2013, he has either been at home under moms constant 24 hour care or in rehab (where mom will barely leave his side). I can certainly say that I cherished my time with them 10 years ago when they were healthy…it has been magnified times 10 in the past few years. If I can sneak over to see them before work, at lunch, after work (or all 3) you can be assured I am THERE!
It really got me to thinking the past few weeks about how valuable our time is to us and what a blessing it is to be able to give this gift away. It makes PERFECT sense to me that "giving the gift of time" to someone we love is TRULY the GREATEST GIFT we can give!! xoxo
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