22 Dec 2016 Spending quality time with family

by Katelin Whiddon

Time is one of the few things in life that we cannot recover when it’s gone nor ask for more. Growing up, we hear people talk about how “time flies” and ask “where did the time go?” But, at least for me, those words didn’t have much truth until reaching adulthood and having children.

We never know how much time we are given in our lifetime or how much time we get to spend with our friends and family. I want to try to make the most of the time I have. Every now and then, I catch myself just staring at my children, trying to freeze time and etch that image in my memory forever. It seems like yesterday that we were starting our parenthood journey, and now our oldest is almost 7 years old. I’m learning that time goes by even faster the older our kids get.

With technology and all of the distractions we have today, it’s so easy to get caught up and miss what is going on in front of us. The past few weekends, we have gone hiking with my kids and my mom. Just getting out to enjoy the outdoors was so nice. Spending quality time with family without electronics was exactly what we needed. We should all try to unplug more and invest in our friends and family without a device of some sort entertaining us.

As we get busier in life, it becomes harder to take time away from everything else and spend quality time with our family and friends.

But, I’m learning that you make time for what you want. Try to make this time a priority – you wouldn’t want to put it off until there is no time left.

There are daily ways that we can maximize our time together. Take regular chores and allow your kids to assist. Let your children help you prepare dinner, set the table, do laundry, etc. We see it as a chore, but they love helping in any way they can. Plus, making these things fun may help to make it less daunting as they get older.

Set aside certain time as “family time.” This could be 1-2 hours per night that phones are put away, TV is turned off (unless all are watching together), and you enjoy each other. Maybe it is a night a week that you have family movie night or family game night, or something similar and everyone knows that time is for family.

Reading is so crucial for our children. Take time to read to your kids, or as they get older, let them read to you. Show them books are exciting and create that love early on in their lives.

We can all find ways to make time for friends and family. I think we all can agree that time is so short, so let’s make the most of what we’ve been given – however much or little that is. 

A Conway native, Katelin Whiddon is a nurse practitioner at the Conway wound clinic for Arkansas Heart Hospital. She and her husband, Daniel, have two daughters. A University of Central Arkansas graduate, she has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and works in pediatrics.