Time, it’s a luxury that seems to slip through our fingers like sand. When you want it to slow down, it speeds up and when you’re impatiently waiting, it’s a snail. Time, is it friend or foe?

Time has been a friend to Sarah. Our ever diligent young lady graduated college this year with her degree in accounting. She is a steady win the race kind of person. She took a position at a local accounting firm and after seven plus years working with her Dad at Fareway she traded her black and whites for business casual. She and Mitchell are finding their way through the maze of adulthood and thankfully share some of their time with us. Sarah’s laugh, her heart and her gentle spirit make us smile. We are very proud of her many accomplishments. 

For Emily time races. She seems to thrive on a full schedule. The challenge of it excites her and to her I might suggest time is a foe and she defies it. She was on the golf team again this year, had a full summer including work, a couple college courses and a full week in July working the Kiwanis fair booth. Then her junior year started with more college classes, regular classes, cheer and work. She proudly maintains high standards in all her classes. Emily is gaining confidence and maturing, thusly she is less shy. She loves the challenge of math and has found a bit of a passion for building and architecture. We anxiously await, without hurrying time, to see what she’ll do next.

Ryan is a lot like his mother, impatient. Time isn’t his friend. This spring he and Brianna made the long drive back to Iowa with both dogs. They split their vacation between all the parents and we are ever grateful for the time we got together. Time we spent catching up in person, playing golf, hosting family dinners and sharing celebrations. Among the celebrations was the news of their pregnancy. For Ryan and Bri I would guess time is both friend and foe. Anxious, excited and nervous, they prepare and wait. As Dave and I make our plans for our visit I’m wondering how to make friends with time. 

Friend or foe for Andrew? Andrew enjoys working and  “relaxing.” For Andrew, he needs to be constantly occupied. If he’s watching TV he’s also doing something else. He’s the master of multitasking. His year of college gave him different insight in life than education. He came home this spring looking for a change and ended up going home with Ryan and Brianna for the summer. In North Carolina he found a job as a kayak tour guide and with his dog by his side he soaked up the sun. His return trip, with his Dad riding shotgun in the Dodge Shadow for 17 hours was, I’m quite certain, entertaining. Currently Andrew can be found in a tractor learning the farming trade. He harvested this fall and that soon turned into fertilization. This has been another experience for the boy who eats up any hands on job. He has a mind for business and is still searching for that occupation that won’t feel like work. Remember, if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.

For Dave and I, time is a foe. There’s never enough of it and its speeding up every year. Can our children really be getting full time jobs, having children and be young adults? When there is so much to do that seems to take so much of our time, our day to day tasks and occupations, I have to remind myself of how precious time is and to spend it wisely. On our annual Christmas tree hunt Emily was on a time constraint and told us we were “budgeted only 20 minutes.”  Can we “budget” time? Can it be mastered? Can we make it our friend and learn to appreciate the time we’re given? As Dave always says, “No regrets.” 

Time, it can’t be bought, traded and certainly not rewound so take every moment for the blessing it is. 

 We wish you love, laughter and great memories.