Time...its a true gift!

Dad's are one of those people that just "make the world go round"....at least my dad is!!! He turned 70 years old on Friday. As a teenager I remember when my grandparents turned 70 and I was sure that they "were SOOO old" but my dad doesn't seem "that old". He still gets around, doing whatever he wants to, he drives, he builds furniture, he reads, he plays with the grand kids, goes fishing, hunting...etc...maybe not moving as fast as he did a few years back, but all in all, he doesn't act like I thought a "70 year old" would act (maybe it has something to do with me "aging" as well). My brother and I planned a big party for him, hoping to make his day a WONDERFUL day packed full of memories. We had a party with a big cake and lots and lots of PIZZA. Who knew that we could all eat so many pieces of Pizza...but it seemed to disappear rather quickly. The kids all played guitar hero, hide and seek and sat around and chatted. Its fun to see the kids together with each other, and even though my kids are ALOT older than most of the cousins, they still enjoy talking and spending time with their cousins. Get together's with my family always result in alot of fun....we are a loud and goofy group of people...but we love being together.

Coming up with ideas for birthday presents are always hard, but for someone that seems to have everything that makes him happy and has everything (within reason) that he wants, it seems to be even harder. But...after talking with my brother about what to get Dad, he came up with an awesome idea. We decided to give him the "gift of time". Dad loves to spend time with his children and grandchildren. He loves to go fishing with them, visit with them, camping, having them over for the night, going for rides...anything- he just enjoys being with his family. What better gift to give him than "time" to do just that..."time with the people that he loves". So each of our families (my siblings and I) took a month during this next year and made a coupon good for "a special day with Dad/grandpa" doing different things ranging from a day of surprises, to dinner in the city, to going to the movies, to BBQ's and picnics. It will be fun to make special memories for both him and for our families, spending time doing fun things together. Dad had a wonderful party! He smiled alot, observed alot and seemed to be glad to be surrounded by the people that love him. ALL of his children (-1 daughter in law that had to work)

and most of his grandchildren (-3 grandson's, two that weren't able to be there and one deceased) were there, which made the day even that much nicer. I think he will love the "Gift of Time" especially as each month comes and he gets to spend a day with one of his children and their families. He will cherish the memories that he'll make for many years to come.