The Most Valuable Gift this Christmas

If you have been avidly searching for the perfect gift for that special someone on your list – that present so extraordinary that it will knock his or her socks off and they will talk about for the rest of their years, read on!

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Now – before you go further, you will need to decide if you truly want to commit to providing such a valuable gift, as many (including myself) would term it absolutely priceless. This gift is so hot, you can’t just walk down to your local box store, or pull up your Amazon account and purchase as many as you want – no, it is too costly; too precious a commodity to purchase in such a manner. If you are still willing to commit, read on …

You see, the most valuable gift you can give someone this Christmas season is your time (hear me out…). This truly hit home with me as I was washing my hair this morning (you know – one of those times when you are somewhat still, and random thoughts just start spewing through your head at the speed of light). It started by thinking of my oldest daughter coming home from NYC Wednesday this upcoming week, and she mentioned the last time she spoke on the phone that she feels bad that she can’t buy us gifts this Christmas (she is still looking for her dream job in the City). Then, with the speed of a squirrel all jacked up on Mountain Dew, my mind shifted gears to daughter #2 stopping by on hew way home from work yesterday, and staying to help me make my mother’s Christmas Cake (aka fruitcake) recipe for the first time ever, and what an absolute blessing that was for both of us talking and remembering Mom/Tita Leona in such a time honored way that we will both cherish for years to come — and that is when it hit me!

We are all so very busy wrapped up in our responsibilities,

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earning our pay check, and being “voluntold” to do things. Even when we are together,  we are alone in the same space as our attention is not on the people around us but on whatever confounded electronic devise we fancy! We have forgotten how to just be present with one another. Yet, when asked about my favorite gifts, or memories, they are ALWAYS tied to people and events, NOT things.

Despite the long list of items my younger boys may have listed on their Christmas lists, or my girls and MackDaddy Mike put on their Amazon lists, the best gift I can give them – the best gift any of us can give each other, costs us much more than mere dollars. What they really want – what I want – is to spend time with them, and only them. By that I mean no work demands, no electronic distractions – just building memories that we can hold onto for the rest of our days on this planet. TIME with one another is truly  a priceless GIFT! You can buy more stuff; you can get a different job; BUT you cannot buy or get more time — you only have whatever precious minutes the good Lord has allotted you … DO NOT WASTE THEM!

To drive this home just one more time, fate smacked me in the face with this concept again while I was having my morning cup of coffee and Facebook updates (yes – I read the headlines like people used to read the paper to see what my peeps are up to). According to Facebook, seven years ago today I posted this picture:

Three years ago, they looked like this:

And now. like this…

So — Be the present this holiday season and BE PRESENT. Give your time this holiday season.