Parenting: Give Them Our Time
The following is an excerpt from a book that I am reading/reviewing – You Want To Do What?
“…the only thing we can give our children of any real value is our time.”
Those words really struck a chord with me when I read them last week, so much so, I wrote them down with the idea that I might build a blog post around it, and then, as if the words pierced my subconsious I suggested to my husband a (very) last minute long weekend to Wales instead, so on Thursday, off we drove to be reunited with family that we hadn’t seen since Erin was six weeks old.
I guess that explains the lack of blogging around here, no apologies, we had a great time together catching up with family. We visited lots of relatives (only the second time for Erin), played piano, went to the Gower, ate ice-cream, Erin rode the kiddie rides, we went to the park and ate sunday dinner together, and apart from the journey back (!!) we had a wonderful time.
I had a chance to think while I was away, and the experience reconfirmed what I already believed to be true – when all is said and done, when Erin is grown up and doing whatever she does best, it will be the TIME we spent together that she’ll remember, not the TOYS and CLOTHES that we bought her. I know this because it’s those spontaneous trips, days out, walks and picnic teas that I remember from my childhood with such fondness.
Here’s to more spontaneous weekends, days out and family time!
I've been blogging for four years and write about anything and everything that takes my fancy.
Above is me with my beloved Ernie in Port Aventura and left with our love child in Florida.
Themocracy
yup! I’m all for wild spontaneous outings! I was talking to my mum the other week about a day when we were up in Scotland. i could remember me coaxing the embers of someone else’s campfire back to life absolutely determined to toast marshmallows on it and was really proud when I managed it. My mum pointed out taht the reason it was so tricky to get the fire going was that it was raining! I didn’t remember the rain, just what we did!
You’re so right Erica. Take yesterday, I spent about 45 minutes doing jigsaws with my eldest. It only came about because my youngest boy grabbed the jigsaw book and pulled apart three jigsaw pictures in one fell swoop. I took some time out from tidying to help my eldest put each picture back together again. If I didn’t do it then, the pieces would have got lost forever. Even though I was anxious as first over the time it was taking, I soon began to enjoy myself spending some quiet time together and we were both pleased when we’d finished the jigsaws. The rest of the jobs have been able to wait until today.
Oooh I so agree! My sister has much older kids than mine and she said to me often when mine were born ‘they aren’t interested in you paying off the mortgage’! We ummed and ahhed about a holiday this year as we are stoney broke (both working part time so we can look after the kids until they are both in school) but decided we should, even if it was cheap camping holiday (which it was though not that cheap!) because holidays, beaches, castles, playing outside with other kids is the very thing they remember and learn from.
Also they do grow up in a heartbeat so when it’s gone, it’s gone…
Px
21st Century Mummy – the cleaning will always be there, I have to keep reminding myself of this fact.
Paula – I like that – they aren’t interested in you paying off the mortgage – so true!
I agree although it’s definately quality not quantity. Best to spend half an hour together chatting over a picnic in the garden than watching an hour of television in silence. Your reminder about time being what is remembered an not toys etc was particularly helpful to me.
So true! It’s what we all value in our relationships. Why should it be any different for babies and children? Yet it was so heartening to read this posting and be reminded of that.
also meant to say that sometimes time rather than money majkes them resourceful – eg we don’t have much disposable income as we chose to look after them a lot ourselves but when we say we can’t buy a certain thing they always say, don’t worry we’ll go home and make one from cardboard or junk! Fast forward a few years and that’s got to be a useful skill!
I agree with this 100%. Great post!