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The Gift of Time
By: Christina Frost
With only two months left in 2023, it’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.
And as I was thinking about what to write about this month, I wanted to share what I’m especially thankful for this year because I lost a lot of it after we had our baby. That blessing is the gift of time.
When I was single and even when I was married, I had no idea how much time I had.
I know Americans in general don’t feel like we have enough time to do everything we want. We are busy with work, church, birthday parties, school, weddings… But I’m telling you, (and the parents out there already know this) but the second you have a kiddo, the amount of time you have to do anything besides care for them greatly diminishes.
I certainly don’t share this to scare anyone thinking about adding onto their family. I love my little girl more than anything, and I wouldn’t trade her for all the time in the world. You love them so much, it’s absolutely worth it…
With that said of course, every chance I have now to do anything for myself is a deeply precious commodity. Baking, writing, taking a shower–that’s pretty exciting these days.
I suspect I’ll continue to get my time back in different ways as my daughter gets older, but right now every nap or moment she can play by herself is like a quick moment at a spa.
As I age, it’s made me reflect on other amounts of time I am thankful for. Every day my parents are still around is a day I’m thankful for. Every year my husband and I make it to another anniversary is one I try not to take for granted. Life can be rough on marriage and we’re coming up on year four here. That’s something I treasure. Every time I think about the friendships which have lasted through moves, disagreements, busyness–I’m genuinely thankful for all the time I’ve had with them.
Yes, there have been periods of my life where all I wanted to do was mark days off a calendar. Maybe those weren’t the easiest of days, and I certainly won’t give my past self a hard time for doing that.
Moving forward however, I want to take as much advantage of the time I have. Maybe that’s time to rest. Time to create. Or time to connect with others.
There’s a time and season for everything and we don’t have to be grateful for every bit of it, but looking back, sometimes that makes it easier to see our time through a different perspective. It’s certainly now changed for me.
With that said, I’ll wrap this up because I’m saving as much time as I can these days.
I hope there is something good and lovely in your life right now that means a lot to you and fills your days with joy. May your Thanksgiving be bursting with lots of things and people and moments that make gratitude feel easy.
Happy November, everyone!
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