Priceless Gifts

Growing up I was given permission to be myself. I had the freedom to imagine, say what I felt and be creative. I didn’t have to fit a certain mold or accomplish unrealistic goals. I simply got to be a kid…a respectful well adjusted kid.

We didn’t have cable and only received 3 TV channels (when the weather cooperated). We didn’t own any movies, a computer or Video games. We never had babysitters aside from grandparents and didn’t eat fast food. Our nearest neighbor was miles away and we listened to sweet country silence in our front yard.

My parents never had to worry about traffic or sidewalks. We picked our vegetables from a garden and 95% of our meat was wild game. We had acres to run and played outside almost every day. We made up games utilizing rocks, dirt, frogs, turtles and our imaginations. We ate dinner together every night as a family.

Never once did I feel that I missed out on anything.

My parents didn’t get wrapped up in the who’s who game or my kid is better than your kid. They were too busy being parents. They didn’t go to college because they were too busy learning. They worked ten times harder to get half as far and I am so proud of them for that.

By taking the time to teach your children what really matters in life you give them the best gift. I am so thankful my parents took the time to be just that…parents. They didn’t take the easy road out. They didn’t pawn us off on sitters and electronic items. They talked, sang, taught, drew, walked, played, prayed, loved, kissed, hugged, laughed, cried, cooked, spanked, grounded, yelled, guided, worked, smiled, read, created, planned, budgeted, built and the list goes on and on.

They were parents all the time and friends when they needed to be…not the other way around. It’s impossible to put a roof on a home with no walls or build walls with no foundation. Take the time to build your family home brick by brick and enjoy the stable refuge you create.