I celebrated my birthday this week. My husband spent hours planning a weekend in Chicago for us. We saw “As You Like It” at the Shakespeare Theater and the Mikado at the Lyric Opera House. He’d planned the weekend with such attention to detail and thoughtfulness about the things I enjoy that I felt deeply cared for—which, of course, is the best gift of all.
My daughters arrived at my house the next day with babies (one only 18 days old), bags of clothes, food, toys, diapers and who knows what else to keep me company on my big day. We ordered Chinese food, talked, played, slept and took the crew to visit my mother who lives nearby.
My friends planned a lunch and two early morning coffee klatches that lasted for hours.
It’s a birthday I’ll cherish because they all spent their precious time for me. I know how valuable the hours in a day are. Once spent, they can never be recaptured. It’s easy to buy a gift or choose a card but not nearly so easy to carve out time and lavish it on someone.
Give the gift of time to someone today!