T-I-M-E Spells Encouragement

When I asked my husband what he would do differently in raising our three children, he immediately said, “I would spend more time building great memories and being involved and encouraging in the intimate details of their young lives.”

This is a heartfelt anguished answer from an engineer/father who struggled sharing time and feelings when the children were young. There was training of employees to be done and businesses to be run. Although we worked hard to eat meals together, took family vacations, went to games and even coached little league teams, time flew by and kids grew up too fast.

Spending quality and quantity time with your child gives them a sense of identity, belonging and knowledge that they are loved and wanted. No one has ever said I wished I would have spent more time at work, but they have wished they would have spent more time interacting relationally with their loved ones.

A note of encouragement for those with regrets: it is never too late to change for the next time. As a positive parent raising positive kids you can always do it better the next time the opportunity presents itself, no matter the age of your child.

A perfect example presented itself to my husband to spend the weekend skiing with our son. The Wing Commander at the Air Force Academy, Joshua endures a pressure packed schedule overseeing all aspects of the 4400 cadet wing; we wanted to encourage him with an enjoyable activity and nourishing food. At the end of the day as they were sitting in the hot tub at the ski resort, our son said to his dad, ‘this has been a perfect day. Thank you for spending time with me.’ The feelings of satisfaction and joy my husband experienced after that comment far outweighed any business deal he has ever put together.