Give the Gift of Time

During the hustle of this time of year many of us have much to do and are focused on "checking things off our lists." I am as guilty as the next person. Whether it is the year-end madness at our respective jobs, balancing schedules with little ones (for those who have them) and their winter breaks, trying to plan for family and travel to or fro, cooking and cleaning...it is chaotic. I get it! We get stretched to our capacity and beyond but it is important to remember the value of making the people we love in our lives a priority. I am making it a personal effort to not simply invest money in a gift that may be soon forgotten. I want to give the gift of time to my friends and to my family that I have admittedly neglected for a number reasons.

I'm sure you are familiar with the quote "time and tide wait for no man." Meaning no one has the capability to stop time, it is a powerful force which marches on. For me, given that things change in a blink of an eye, I feel compelled to create more memories and live in the moment with those who mean the most to me. In my full-time life, I work in higher education. I had a commencement speaker come and speak to our 2015 graduates. He said something that stuck with me and I've since vowed to do better. I'm going to try and do justice to his words. 'On our headstones will be a dash indicating the date we were born and the date we went on to glory. I want that dash to tell a real story about how I lived my life.' What a smack in the face for me! To give the gift of time and true, undivided presence only makes sense. I've decided I want to make a deliberate change; I don't want to make any more excuses, I want to make time. Work will be here. Laundry will be here. Responsibilities at home will be here. Lack of sleep will be here. The one thing I cannot continue to take for granted is that I will be here or that those I love will be here. My dash will be about the pursuit of giving. It is also important for me to to be a blessing, in some form or fashion, to someone who may feel forgotten by their community. What will your dash tell, loves? I'd love to hear in the comments below.

Thank for hanging!
XO
-C