Mancrates.com is having a fantastic contest in honor of father's day. All you need to do is post a brag about your dad on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and share it HERE for a chance to win a fun gift all sealed up in a wooden crate just perfect for dad. I know my husband would have loved to receive a man crate, what man wouldn't!
This got me to thinking about the special bond all four of our children and my little sister had with my late husband and how it all started with 15 minutes. This father's day will be my children's second father's day without their father and although they are all adults the pain of losing their father is still very raw. So instead of a showing you around our city I want to share this father's day post as a reminder to all that no matter what city we may be in or how far we may be from our loved ones we should not miss a single opportunity to spend time with them, even if it is only on the phone.
Now for how 15 minutes can form a lifelong bond.
It all started as a way to help our children relax and go to sleep and turned into one of the most memorable traditions of our family. Every night at bedtime my husband or I would spend 15 minutes with each one of our children and my little sister, giving them our complete undivided attention. At first it was a time when we read them a story before tucking them in bed and turning the light off, but as they got older it became a time when they could tell us about their day or just talk about anything that came to mind. This meant that the bedtime ritual took an hour and fifteen minutes to complete, starting with the youngest and working our way to the oldest, but it was time well spent. My husband was a long haul truck driver and was away a lot, but everyday he would call home and spend at least 15 minutes on the phone with each of the kids. Surprisingly the tradition did not die when the children went through their teen years, although the order and time of night for our 15 minute chats changed frequently as did the length of the chat. And by the time our three oldest became adults and went out on their own the routine of sharing a few minutes about their day with myself or their father had become a tradition. One that we never realized would mean so much.
This is a portion of the tribute we made for my husband's memorial service. I know he would have loved this message from our children as much as he loved his special time spent each day with each of our children. I wish I had thought to make him something like this while he was still with us but that is something one rarely thinks to do.
Life is short and we never know how long we will have with our loved ones, so make the most of everyday and tell them often how much you love them.
4 comments:
Oh that tribute is so moving. I had to stop it and restart it so I could make it through the whole thing.
I had not realized your husband had passed away so recently. It's very clear that his family remembers and misses him. All the best.
Your post touched a spot deep in my heart. The tribute was beautiful. I listened to every word with eyes glistening but also with admiration. You took the time not only throughout your husband's life, but after his death as well, to establish and follow through with each individual family-connection. His spirit will live on a little stronger in each of you because of that. Thank you. One can never heed enough a reminder such as you have given us today. We need to hear it over and over again.
In my family we used to eat at the same time, all together, at the table.
I continued the same tradition.
We get attitudes and habits from home, our parents.
If you think about that, what kind of role models kids have today...
BLOGitse
What a great tradition!
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