The Gift of Time

This isn’t a particularly original topic.

The gift of time is a cliché. A gift is something given with no expectations or strings attached.

And time is that. We have to “find” it in our busy days and cherish it when we do. As grandparents, so many of us are either retired or working fewer hours now. Time is what we have in quantities that we never have had before.

We have no more kids’ college tuitions looming and often have paid off our home mortgages. We have Medicare and Social Security (at least for now!). We might (or might not) have more disposable income than our children and their families. But, what we surely have more of is time.

When I have a full day with one of our grandchildren, I plan big events – a trip to the zoo, a new movie, an arts and crafts class. What I find though is that my grands would prefer to spend the time at a park or in my house, just being with me. We bake, we play board games, of course we build Lego kingdoms. They want time and I certainly have that to give. When we’re at the lake each summer, they all clamor on to the dock every morning to fish with me. It’s just me and the kids, some worms and some hungry sunfish. It’s by far my favorite time of day with them. I’m also the one who spends the most time swimming with them. It not only gives their parents some real vacation hours (minutes?), but it also gives me what I want – time with them.

Gifts don’t have to be expensive to be enjoyed. Time is a precious commodity. Time is what grandparents so often have in abundance. Certainly, save some of it for yourself. But, spend it on your grandchildren, too. It may be the very best gift you can give them.