Time is precious, time is precious, precious time, precious time...

As mentioned in the previous post, my mother came for a visit. It was a good visit, a brief 10-day visit that allowed her just enough time away from work in the clinic (she's an RN). Since my husband and I moved to India two years ago both our parents have visited on separate occasions. My mom comes as often as she can (twice a year) and with each visit I have found myself incapable of doing the ordinary routine I have set my groove into over the years such as: blogging, emailing, writing letters, etc. I acknowledged that the ideal would be to keep daily tabs of our adventures, but as you know that did not happen.

I've begun to ponder about why it is that I am incapable of or maybe not allowing myself to do "the ordinary" during these visits. I think it's because I've convinced myself this time together is not only preciously, but preciously limited. And time is precious. My love-language isn't even quality time (as my husbands is) but when my folks come for a visit there is a little voice in my head that keeps repeating, "Time is precious, time is precious, precious time, precious time."

Time is precious for sure. And yet I do not realize its full potential until a visitor such as my mom, fills that time. Soon she will board a plane and her once tangible visit will be a tangle of memories to be revisited throughout the day. And what kind of memories? I want to replay each minute that was used to laugh. Or time used to dig-deep about spiritual discoveries. Or remembering the Remember When's. Or driving in the car fending for our lives with cows and bullock-carts in India. Or cooking a meal together. Or playing with my son, Grandma's only grandson she will see twice in a year. For me, there are always books to read--really good books. There are always posts to write--insightful, meaningful, take-you-into-my-life posts. But does filling my day with those things count as precious time when the time at this hour is so preciously...limited? To be honest I believe I can post a blog and read a book and still call my time precious with family. But as of now, I haven't quite learned the balance of it. I still need more time.

Maybe I'll get better at it as the years pass and family continues to visit and children grow and demand more attention. Maybe when mom and dad come to visit again in Sept. I will be forced to write a little more and take more time for myself (even that feels selfish during family visits). From my vantage point today though, I accept the less-than-ideal of putting some things aside when life is spent for the preciousness of Time. Even if it does sometimes mean dodging bullock-carts in India. Even that is worth it when spending time, precious time with a loved one.