Our times together …

I enjoyed a father-daughter camp retreat this weekend.  We enjoyed fantastic Carolina weather and the Pamlico sound and a host of activities, but more importantly, it was really special having so much time together, just the two of us. There is no substitute for time spent together, particularly when the purpose of the time is to enjoy the time together.  The memories were precious and even a little painful as I’m reminded that this “parenting period” is temporary.  Older parents always say with nostalgia that it’s over before you know it, and most often it’s said with a tint of regret.

I’ve been really convicted this year on how easy it is to get sidetracked even obsessed with things that ultimately have little or no significance while at the same time neglecting what really matters — each other.  Some quotes to further that conviction:

“When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn’t they matter most now?”
— Max Lucado

“Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happines there is in our lives”  C.S. Lewis

“No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater…The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot.”
— Sarah Dessen (This Lullaby)

“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.”
— John Ruskin

“The capacity for friendship is God’s way of apologizing for our families.”
— Jay McInerney (The Last of the Savages)

“The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either — or both — when needed?”
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”
— Benjamin Franklin

“How did it get so late so soon?”
— Dr. Seuss