The Gift of Time
What to buy: the tie or the gift card? Perhaps a set of new drill bits? Or maybe that expensive thingamajig that just came out? What do you give a man who might already have everything and want nothing?
In our consumer culture, holidays can make us feel socially obligated to give a gift, but gifts given from such a mindset are often impersonal and unimportant. They’re objects, evidence of a contract we’ve fulfilled that ensures that at some point, the other person must reciprocate. Here’s a gift card. Happy Father’s Day, Dad (and remember this when my birthday comes around). But showing your appreciation for an important person in your life doesn’t have to necessitate yet another tiepin or a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant. It’s not the gift we give, but the emotion behind it that’s important; not the date on the calendar, but the time we spend with someone we love.
For Father’s Day, I suggest that you make a little time to spend with your dad. You don’t have to go anywhere or do anything expensive, just take a few hours out of the day to be together. If you’re far away, call him and make a plan to do something. It could be a chance to simply enjoy his company, or the perfect opportunity to renew old bonds.
As we grow older, we tend to separate from our parents. Our lives change and grow busier; we move away. Distance grows. Perhaps you never had a good relationship with your father to begin with and you’re strangers to one another. Time might be something you’ve been meaning to give to your father, for whatever reason. But spending time together can be a gift for you as well as him. My father passed away last year, and this is my first Father’s Day without him. When you lose someone you love, you tend to dwell on what didn’t happen: words you should have said and didn’t, things you could have done but were too busy to do. Those regrets may always be there, but if you’re lucky, you’ll have those good moments, too.
Be grateful for your time, and don’t be stingy with it. And when the opportunity arises, take a second to say, “I’m sorry. Thank you. I love you.”
Share your gratitude for the dad in your life in your Thankfulfor posts. Don’t forget that we’ll be creating a free ebook using posts collected from the site. If you like, you can also submit a link to a family photo.
Image: moonjaz
Tori is a student intern who will be working with the Thankfulfor team over the summer. She is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she is studying graphic design.
