Gifts of Time and Conversation

I'm a words person. They're my love language. Some people may prefer gifts, acts of service or time, but words are the primary way I feel and show love. I treasure conversation and the words that are said like jewels. I'll find myself thinking of them later and turn them over and over in my mind savoring the good ones.

This year I couldn't think of any material thing I needed for Mother's Day. What I did need, and what I find myself coveting more and more, is uninterrupted time and conversation with my kids. Time not interrupted by chores, schedules, responsibilities and the all around busyness of life. Conversations focused on thoughts and feelings, rather than on reminders, explanations, requests, and mediating sibling rivalry. I wanted to get away from all that for the day and enjoy each other!

And that's what we did. We started out the day sleeping in a little. Because nothing makes an outing go downhill faster than having a hard deadline to leave and hurrying to get there. I did not want to start our special day off frazzled and fighting before we even left.

We planned ahead on the food. I made Mother's Day lunch reservations and the kids ate a big breakfast before we left. Hunger is another guarantee there will be fighting and bad attitudes in our family. It's hard to be patient and kind on an empty stomach, am I right?

We had an hour drive to our destination. This was the perfect amount of time. Long enough for great conversations, but not so long people got antsy. I love talking to my kids in the car. They're a captive audience and I learn so much more than I would if we were at home with all its distractions. I learn things listening to them talk to each other, too. I get the inside scoop on the high school and who's dating who, etc. I love it! Not because I'm nosy. I don't even know most of the people they're talking about. I just love that inside peek into their world. In between, make her stop doing that, and, why do I have to sit in the middle, are the talks I treasure.

We went to a state park and admittedly, this was not a fun prospect in the minds of my kids. I'm pretty sure my husband gave them a talking to about not complaining and humoring their mother on Mother's Day. I did hear What are we going to do?, Why didn't we pick a closer park?, and Are we just going to walk around and eat? But they got into the spirit quickly.

We had a buffet style lunch that was marginal quality, but I didn't care what we were eating as long as we were together. Not having to cook and clean up a meal are wonderful treats for me. I really enjoyed all of us laughing and trying new foods together! It felt festive with so many other families gathered together to celebrate, too.

We went on two hikes. Walking and hiking with no particular destination or timetable allows for personalities to shine through. I saw different ones talking and walking together for awhile and then others together after that.


I really appreciated the effort put forth by my husband and kids to make my Mother's Day special. There was almost no sibling rivalry. No bad attitudes and talking back. No real complaining about the heat, the hikes, the food, or anything else. It was truly one of those magical days where family life is just like a Hallmark movie. I will savor it and turn it over in my mind for a long time to come.


And because I don't like reading things that make life sound like it's all rainbows and unicorns, I'll just say that by this morning, we were back to the drudgery of packing lunches, arguing over showers and missing clothing, and working on school projects at an hour no one needs to be awake. Real life...it always comes calling!



36 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a wonderful Mother's Day, Marie. I loved reading about every detail, especially the really honest points/thoughts. They made me smile :0)
    To ensure that our Mother's Day dinner was calm, we took the 3 little ones to the park for 30 minutes before dinner so that they could run off their energy before we sat down for our meal. I also made a craft bag for each of them so that I didn't have to hear "Mom, I'm bored. When are we going home???" All the strategies worked. We had an enjoyable and relaxing dinner. I felt like I was on CLOUD 9, surrounded by my children and husband.
    As always, thanks for sharing . . .
    I hope you had a great Monday!
    Suzanne

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    1. That sounds great, Suzanne! I think the kids must sense it's a special day and act better, or our "mom glasses" are especially strong that day and we can only think loving thoughts! :) I'm glad it was so special for you! P.S. I think I'd like to make whatever was in your craft bag! :)

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  2. What a great mother's day! I love days like this. We were pretty relaxed as well. My 16 year old wrote me a short story for his gift to me, and I think it will rank as one of my all time favorites. Have a great week!

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    1. I can see why the short story would be one of your all time favorites! That's very special!!

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  3. Pretty special gift your family gave you. You deserve it, friend! You are a role model for appreciating what is in front of you and seizing the gift of the moment before it passes. xo

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  4. Hallelujah to a day just for Mothers!!! That day will get you through the rest of this week :) Love it!

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  5. What a lovely Mother's Day Marie! I'm really looking forward to the time when my children are old enough to go on country walks as we often used to go on family walks on a Sunday when I was younger, ending up with a drink or lunch in an olde world pub somewhere in the heart of English countryside. I miss that and the chance to walk and talk and really communicate on those outings. X

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    1. That sounds so relaxing! It seems like walking just lends itself to good conversation. :)

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  6. Sounds like a fun day!! You have a beautiful family!!

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  7. So glad you had a great mother's day outing! This reminds me of things my parents used to try to do with us, and I'll admit... I was the complainer in the bunch! I'm sure it will come back to bite me when my kids are older because now I love doing things without a "schedule."

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    1. That's funny because I know I would have complained at this type of thing when I was a kid. You can only appreciate it as an adult! :)

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  8. I love days without a schedule - wake up whenever, have a lazy breakfast, leave the house when you're ready - perfect! It sounds like you had a wonderful day :-)

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  9. Sounds perfect! (At least for the moment.) It's funny, when my kids were younger all I wanted for mother's day was a break from them. Now they're starting to get to the age where I see the time flying by and I want to have the kind of day you described. Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. I can totally relate to that, Meredith! Mother's Day is much more fun when the kids are old enough to pamper you a little! :)

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  10. Great post and very Real!! That is what I like!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words!!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  11. Sounds like you had an amazing Mother's Day! It's one thing to be with your family and it's a whole other thing to truly spend quality time with your family - laughing together and enjoying time with each other. I'm glad that you got to experience it in such a beautiful way on Mother's Day.

    Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you! :)

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    1. That's a good point! Thanks for reading and for hosting Turn It Up Tuesday! :)

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  12. Ahhh bless you sounds like you had a fantastic Mother's Day!! Love the exploring photos too! A family day out can't be beat for sure. I am obsessed with car ride talks!! I have always been fond of road trips and its always where Mr P and I have our quality talks without interruptions. But now that my two year old is talking to talk in full force its my favorite place to be with him chatting away and asking questions as we drive. Lovely post. Glad you enjoyed your special day! Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme

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  13. Such a lovely post! Thanks for sharing on the Thursday Blog Hop!

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  14. Hi Marie! Our blog has nominated you for a Liebster Award! http://www.justatouchofcrazy.com/2014/05/the-liebster-award.html Hope you'll check it out and thanks for visiting our blog and all your comment love. Can't wait to get to know you better :)

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    1. That is so sweet of you, Leilani! I was nominated and did a Liebster post in April, so I can't participate this time. http://www.normaleverydaylife.com/2014/04/an-encouragement-boost-liebster-award.html

      I think this award is so encouraging though and I'm so flattered that you thought of me! I look forward to continuing to read http://www.justatouchofcrazy.com/ :)

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  15. That sounds like such a wonderful Mother's Day! I'm so glad you had a nice day. Thanks for the bit of honesty at the end too haha. That was much appreciated.

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    1. Thanks, Karen! Perfection will certainly not be found here :) Thanks for reading!

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  16. One day, if they don't already fully, your children will really appreciate how blessed they are to have someone who is genuinely interested in them, in listening, in spending quality time. Mothers' Day perfection, lovely - and of course, being a mother is never a Hallmark card, there is always the after, the before, and bits in between the perfection that make it all so REAL. Thanks for linking up to #AllAboutYou

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    1. Thanks for hosting and giving me the opportunity to share!

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  17. I love the story of your Mother's Day! Thank you so much for sharing it at Motivation Monday!

    I had to laugh about feeding your kids a big breakfast. I swear mine travel on their stomachs. My dd7, normally sunshine and rainbows, is the crabbiest person in the world when she's hungry. It's like night and day.

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