A precious gift

My friend Velvet Couture recently posted about the gift of time.  Such a precious commodity and so relatively easy to give, yet one that is taken for granted every day by most of us.

It got me thinking about time I spent with my dad when I was younger.  


The clearest memory I have is when my brother and sister and I went camping with dad the first Christmas after he and mum split up.  Two weeks camping in a National Park in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.  Just him and us and two of our cousins.  Two whole weeks.  It was the first time in my ten year old life I could remember having his complete attention - he was all ours - with no work or business or farming distractions of any kind.  

Camping, fishing, cooking on the open fire, singing along to the pop songs on the car radio, melting marshmallows on the ends of sticks, riding our bikes, swimming, hiking.....two weeks of absolute fun that has stayed with me all these years and still makes me smile.  When I think about it, I can only remember another handful of times where it was just dad and I but they are special times, times that I always remember with warmth.

What makes this time spent with dad so extra special is that we lost him six months ago to a heart attack.  He was only 58.  There are no more opportunities to spend time with him, laugh with him, joke with him, play cricket, watch the football on telly.  No more chances to create new memories and relive past ones.  No more time.  All I have left is the precious few memories and the rare photo to remind me.  But those I will treasure in my heart all the more as the years pass.

Since he passed I find I am more aware of, and cherish more, the special people in my life and the time I get to spend with them.  Every day is precious.   I try not to pass up opportunities to see them, to be with them, to share good times and bad with them, to tell them I love them and how important they are to me....I just never know when those times will run out.  

So thank you Velvet Couture for your wonderful post - and for all those fun years at Oriel Park!

xxx