Pictures & Ponderings: The Gift of Time

This weekend, my husband and I made good on Part 2 of our solo-time gifts for our kids. (See "Greening the Holiday Gift-Giving".) He took our five-year-old daughter out for Chinese food and ice-skating (above); I took our nine-year-old son out for Japanese food and bowling. For Part 1 last month, I took our daughter out for frozen yogurt (yes, her choice in January!) and pottery-painting; my husband took our son out for Italian food and model ship-building. There was something really soul-satisfying and peaceful about spending dedicated afternoons with our children--and not because they weren't together to bicker with each other. It was because we were actively showing them how much we cherish them. How deserving they are of our undivided attention. That they are not only important and worthy, but fun and enjoyable companions. We could say those things all we want, but words are just words and they require action to make them come alive.

When I was eating sushi with my son, I decided to take a few photos of him across the table from me. He smiled and did his best funny faces for a few clicks, but then he said, "Mom, I'd rather have a picture of us together. I don't want it to look like I'm all alone and don't need my parents anymore." (Melt...) So he came over to my side of the booth and the waitress took a picture of us--together.

There is no toy, DVD, or game system that could have bested these afternoons. My only regret is that we didn't think of this gift idea sooner. On the drive home, my son asked me, "Can we have these presents for every holiday?" Yes and no. Yes, we can have more one-parent-one-child afternoons, but no, we won't need a special holiday or occasion for them.

What was the best gift you ever received? Was it manufactured, hand-made, or none of the above?

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