Time -- your precious gift

  • Published
  • By Rhonda Siciliano
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFPN) --  The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us and people are scurrying about in search of the perfect gifts for family and friends.

Having trouble deciding what to get for those special people in your life? How about giving the gift of time.

There is perhaps no greater gift that we can give to those we care about than the gift of our time. Its value is priceless because it is something we don't have an endless supply of.

It seems there is never enough time in the day to get everything done that we often set out to accomplish. More often than not it is the time that we had hoped to spend with family or friends that gets bumped from our schedules because work or other matters just can't wait.

The day before Thanksgiving my father-in-law passed away after a long illness.

When my husband called to tell me that his dad was gone, I remembered something that my husband would say from time to time. "You never regret the time you spend with those you care about because someday that's all you'll be left with are these memories of time spent."

Those words echoed in my mind as the memories came flooding in of happy times that we had shared with my father-in-law and I was thankful for each moment that we had with him.

Recently we put out a call for holiday messages from our deployed, remote tour and extended TDY personnel who will be away for the holidays.

As I read through the messages they reminded me again of just how important it is to take advantage of those opportunities to spend time with those we care about when we can, because those tomorrows that we thought we might have may not be there for awhile.

Think back to previous holidays and what is it that you remember? For most of us the things that stand out are the times shared with people and not so much the actual gifts that we were given.

As the holidays quickly approach and you're scrambling to find those perfect gifts, remember to take time to spend with those you care about. Time really is the greatest gift you can give this season.