Unwrapping Gifts of Time
Show me what it's like to see the world through your eyes - My Sunday Best #10
Time is a gift. I hear those words frequently. I even say them myself. But usually, as I move from one thing to the next throughout my busy day, I forget to open the priceless treasures wrapped in ordinary increments of time.
Every December, I ask my son and daughter-in-law what the kids want for Christmas. They always give me the same answer, “The kids don’t need anything, just come spend some time with them when you can.” I’ve never been good at buying gifts for special occasions anyway. Mostly because I procrastinate and can’t decide what to get until it’s too late. However, sometimes I come across the perfect gift, like the $1 bubble wand with a dinosaur head I recently saw at the gas station. I knew my grandkids would love it. So this past Thursday, when I found out my son and my oldest grandson were stopping by for a short impromptu visit, I made a quick trip to the gas station.
Now if I had known ahead of time that they were coming I would have made plans filled with fun activities like swimming at the waterpark, fishing, going for a boat ride, or sightseeing. I would have bought hot dogs and marshmallows. But, it was a spur-of-the-moment father/son road trip and they were only a few hours away.
So instead, we spent our time just sitting around and talking, with the exception of going to our happy hour gig where they were introduced to at least 40 or more people in two hours. But as soon as we were done playing we quickly packed up our guitars so we could get home and spend every precious minute together.
Before we left for the gig, Mickey asked Kaston if he wanted a piece of turkey, still hot from the grill. Kaston said, “No, I only like the food at my house.” His honesty made me smile. I totally understood. After all my favorite restaurant is at home too. As the beautiful oranges and reds faded from the evening sky, we sat on the deck around the mini fire pit and talked. Kaston showed me how to properly blow bubbles with the bubble wand—I never did get the hang of it, much to his frustration. We continued our casual conversations the following day over coffee, hot chocolate, and biscuits and gravy.
As my three-year-old grandson looked around at this new world he had just stepped into, he had a few questions. He wanted to know what the metal coyote was doing up in the gable rafter. I said, “It’s howling at the moon.” “No it’s not,” he replied. “The wolf is howling at the roof.” “I guess it is,” I said as I looked at it again with a new perspective. A short while later he asked about the big metal crab leaning against the water tank, I told him it was a Blue Crab. He said, “Crabs aren’t blue, they’re red.” Of course, this got Mickey’s attention, whose ears perk up anytime blue crab is mentioned. He explained to Kaston that these crabs are blue in the water, and when they get out of the water they turn red. Kaston thought about this for a while. Later I heard him sharing this new information with his dad.
Every one of these moments was like unwrapping one little present after another. Seeing my world through the eyes of my grandson was delightful as we learned new things about each other.
I wouldn’t change a thing about how we spent those precious 22 hours—no plans, no agendas, just an open block of time. We all know each other a little better. I know that Kaston’s favorite colors are blue and green, that dinosaurs are his favorite animal, and bugs are good only if they are green. Most of all I was reminded that time really is the best gift after all, next to a dinosaur bubble wand.