The Greatest Gift of All …… TIME
Yes, I have issues with people being late. Let’s say it is one of my pet peeves. I usually give a 15 minute window and then walk away. You might think that sounds harsh but let me explain…..
When I think back to my childhood, I remember how much time I had with my parents. I had dinner every night with smiles and fun times. When I was little, my parents also loved to go dancing – “Country and Western dancing that is”. They would go to a place in the next town that was family friendly and I always got to bring a friend or two along. We would listen to the live music, munch on popcorn and dance ourselves silly. We always stayed after to meet the band members and their families. Many of mom and dad’s friends would show up and we would all line dance and have a wonderful time. Some of my fondest memories were at a dance hall, being silly and exhausted from dancing all night. We were always on time to hear the band’s first song and possibly their last as well. The time that was spent on the dance floor was cherished and everyone was able to have a great time and unwind from the long week. We spent many hours with friends and family at the dance hall.
My Dad past away two years ago and when I look back on the lessons that he taught me. I always come back to TIME.
He would say that, “Time is the best gift that you can give a person, because your time is one of the most valuable things that you have to give. It shows others that you value them and that you care for them. Time shows who YOU choose to love. Time is a choice that is yours to waste or cherish.”
In this aspect, I learned that wasting someone’s time, especially his, was extremely disrespectful. He made it well known that being late and wasting someone’s time was the ultimate in disrespect. They could be doing something else and spending their time with someone else too. It was a running joke in our family that the only people to ever show up on time where my parents. They always allowed enough travel time so they were not late for a party or event. On the other hand, we had people in our family that were always late. Thinking back, maybe this was one of the first times that the whole “time and disrespect” issue had come up, while waiting on other family members to arrive at an event. We must have been waiting an extremely long time to eat and he had enough. So, he came up with this theory that would last a lifetime – to not WASTE someone else’s time.
When I look back on the gift of time my dad gave to me, I am so grateful that I got to see him everyday of my childhood and talk to him most everyday day into adulthood.
The time that he gave to my children are the most valuable years in their young lives and we are all so lucky to have had him with us for so long.
He was 84 when he passed away and I am extremely thankful for his time; especially during dinner and when we went dancing.
Plus, the fact that he CHOSE to spend so much time with my family and children, makes all the difference in the world to me.
Thank you Dad for All of your lessons, including making sure I understood the GIFT OF TIME.
Take away lessons:
• Cherish the time you have with others.
• Don’t be disrespectful and waste their time.
• Give your time to the people that matter most to your heart.
• Be thankful for the time given to you by others.
Maybe this explains my unhappiness of people being late and my thoughts on wasting someone’s time.
Maybe it also means I just wanted to honor my dad and share a valuable lesson that he taught me.
Hopefully, the next time you are waiting for a person that is late, you will share my dad’s theory of wasting someone’s time and how that could be seen as disrespectful.
Maybe you won’t…. Maybe you will just think about it.
I am interested to hear what you think about my father’s theory on time.
Hope to hear from you soon!
