Sweet Time

Quality Time. What does that even mean? It sounds expensive. It sounds like you should check the seams, look for loose threads. Check the craftsmanship. Do the corners fit neatly together?

No, of course not, there are no perfect corners in this land, no garments without loose threads everywhere. In this land of family, parenting, learning and growing, there are loose ends all over the place. The corners never fit neatly together. Leaky faucets abound.

In this season of busier-than-ever schedules I've found little gems of time and I cherish each moment more than ever before. When Shelly is at Awana on Wednesday nights, Archer and I laugh and play and work on Cub Scout assignments. Sometimes we're a little frantic, trying to sign off as many pages as possible in the short time available. Sometimes we just think of silly things to tell each other and there's no plan. No structure. Is that quality time? It sounds so formal, but what we do is so easy, no work required.

On the mornings when Shelly has school I catch myself thinking, "This is your time with her, she won't be here later." And we do workbook pages, or she writes a grocery list in pictures for me, or we talk about her best friends and what happened at school. Because she'll be gone, I don't wait for later to listen to her stories. Because when they get home later they'll want to play with each other, I stop and listen more closely to what they're telling me now.

When the baby is snuggled in my arms in the middle of the night and I'm marvelling at the wonder of those tiny little hands that God created, and the next moment I'm wondering if he needs his nails trimmed. Shelly crawls onto the couch next to me and I listen to the sleeping sounds of my family, is that quality time? Or another sweet-as-honey moment to cherish?

Whoever came up with that word to describe all the moments in a day we share with those we love was too scientific, too rigid. Surely there is a better description. But one word could never capture it all.

Clearly, my cup is overflowing with blessings too abundant to count.