A Gift of Your Time

This weekend’s 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks brought a lot of reminiscing for America and individuals. "We Will Never Forget ... "    Where we were, why did this happen and how we responded as a nation. The images just flowed through my head of the towers burning in New York, the Threat Condition Delta on our military installations, locked and loaded automatic weapons at the installation entry points, a command post full of very determined airmen and the President reading to a young group of children. So many to remember …

As we were enjoying our coffee and breakfast this morning, I pulled out our calendar with special events for our family recorded on it. We read it each morning and add new events if warranted. They remind us of good times, extraordinary times and a few that we remember to make sure we know why we celebrate the good times. A short discussion usually follows with our day’s events but today we jumped into a discussion about some note cards Deb had pulled out of the drawer.

I had prepared a few items on note cards a couple of years ago as reminders for me,
gave them to Deb one day at a time for a month. They were simple, how I could help more around the house or take my time to do something unique!  Some were “chores”, some were romantic and some definitely lead up to a planned vacation. All were simple one liners such as, “clean living room”, “take Deb shopping for cruise items”, “take Deb out to dinner”, “do the laundry today” and “take a walk together”.


The idea was to show my appreciation for everything she did for us as a couple and also make her day a bit easier in some cases. We talked about it why I had done it and I said, “they were a gift of my time”. Thirty one gifts of my time for her to enjoy. We laughed at some of them and she had returned the favor by adding her own gifts of time to each card.

How do you share your time? What are your priorities? When you reflect on events such as 9/11 do you find a new focus? How about when a spouse returns from a deployment or long TDY? Do family matters become more important? Do they change your spiritual walk? I think they do for a brief time and then we get back into our normal routines. The challenge is to make time for our priorities and enjoy them! Remember, your time is valuable. Make it a gift for others and yourself!