The best thing to give to someone who has all they need is your time

Hi, GardenGerty....that was very thoughtful of you to visit your parents. Both of my parents are deceased as well as the majority of my aunts and uncles. But I do agree that sharing your time with loved ones is truly a remarkable gift. As I get older I realize that I've gathered up a lot of useless 'stuff' and need to get rid of some of it. I wish I had people that just wanted to visit and share time sometime and then at other times I'm perfectly satisfied with those that I do have.

hi gardengerty as you know I am a resident here in this tiresome retirement center and my son is in an apt. with three other men all looking for work. my son has part time work but at christmas he was so upset that he did not have a gift for me. I told him his spending time one on one with me on Christmas day was the best gift he could have given me. things get used up but love spread with a loved one is so wonderful.Last Christmas he gave me a fruit of the art headphones and a great small flashlight an LED one that I use every night.those are things I use all the time. I am listening to classical music right now.I give back time when he visits as he digs up things on the computer I have not known about that he thought I would enjoy and I really do as we are sharing it together.That is exactly what so many here miss, some time sent with their families and so often some never see anyone. thats just not right as we should all have some time to spend with our own families. It does not cost that much.

I have the same thoughts with you. Gifts are of no value to our elderly parents and the most precious gift is the gift of time. They want to spend what ever left of their years on earth with their love ones. My mother is 75 years old and what she craved from all her children is spending quality time with her, chatting with her and bringing her out for shopping or to see places of interest. Since I am staying a distance away from my mother, I make it a point to come back home to see her and spend at least a week with her. I can see the glow in her face when ever I am home.

That is so true. Although many people think that we can buy time with money but then again giving our time is a choice. I mean we can have so much time yet spend it on our own selves & neglect the people we love. It's very heart warming to hear what you've related & yes, to me family time is the best. As a dad, I always find time to play & communicate with my 8-month old everyday & boy, he misses his dad when he doesn't see him around for the whole day. He'll come crawling towards me when I get home, haha!~With the baby around & being so hectic, I always find time to talk to my wife & communicate & tell her how much I love her & care for her as all these can be taken for granted, especially with such a hectic schedule

I think taking time is very nice. I remember a wonderful conversation I had with my grandmother before she passed. She and I liked cantaloupe and so I went and got a special one I knew would be good and some vanilla icecream. Went over to grama's and cut the fruit up and put some vanilla icecream in the middle and we sat and slurped and enjoyed while have a great conversation. I will never forget that time with her. Wasn't really anything special for someone looking in but it sure was special to me!

I totally agree that quality time and love are the best gift we could give to our loved ones especially elderly parents.Sometimes parents would wish that their kids would have stayed as kids so they could always be together and they would always come to moms when they have problems.But kids grow up and face a life of their own, go out with friends forgetting to give a little of their time to their parents.

Spending time with someone is precious. You can replace objects, you can't ever turn back time. It sounds like a great day watching the super bowl with your dad and his wife. See-precious time, can't get it back. I spend lots of time with my mom. I feel sorry for my sisters, they live so far away, they are missing out on so much.

i agree with that.. i think it is really what we all wanted from the people we expect most, right? i mean, to have them at our side... to be with us, give us their time because that is really a precious gift.. it cannot be bought and when time is lost, it cannot be retrieved, right?

I agree that the best gift to give is one's time. Not only is it special to the parent that their offspring loves them enough to put aside their want to dos, but it is also wonderful for the offspring to sit and spend the time with their parents and listen to the stories of when the parents were growing up, meeting and getting married, their hard times, the times that passed when they were raising their children and so much more. Also, parents reach a point in life where repairs are very difficult to do, and having their children there to help them out with the repairs is invaluable to them. My Mom spent hours bragging to her friends about everything I fixed around the house. One of her friends also benefitted from my repairs. I fixed up a screen door for her one hot spring day. She bragged to her son and daughter in law, who got rather upset with me for fixing the door for her. I still haven't figured out why as they were very tied up with their working for the school district in which they lived. Too many people will put Mom and Dad into nursing facilities and forget about them. It reminds me of stuffing something in the closet and forgetting that it is there. I feel so awful for the parents of the inconsiderate children that wharehouse them in a nursing facility and never come to visit. I still give a lot of time to people and shelter animals. I love listening to the stories from the older citizens about how they survived the depression or the move across country in the early 1900's. As for the shelters, I donate teddy bears for them to sell in their gift shops. I would love to still be able to spend time with Mom, unfortunately she passed away in 2000. Even while she was hoipitalized I spent at least 12 hours a day with her; when she passed away after 53 days in the hospital, she was secure in my arms with my telling her how much I loved her.

Hi GG. I couldn't agree more. The elderly have most of what they need except for the monthly items that they need and that's what they want as gifts, if gifts were to be given. For an example, they don't need another lamp or nic nac, they need soap, deodorant, power, toilet paper, diapers and of course food items that they use. They also need the help of people to move something or to put something away or to fix something which is another way to give time to them. Spending time to talk is a wonderful way to spend time with an elderly person because they have so many stories to tell in which are very interesting. Making them feel important once again is like a million bucks to them.

I agree, time is the most valuable gift. My dad and stepmom are 89 and 85 and have everything they want or need, although they are far from wealthy. I visit them twice a month and it's nice to just sit with them and relax. I love to see the smile on my dad's face when I come in and the hugs I get when I leave. Too many old people are alone and forgotten. A little bit of time costs nothing and is so precious.

Hi GG, That is so very true. I have learned this when I was on the bed for 8 months and all I needed was some time from almost everyone around. After I re-started living, I have realized that I do not have anything else to give to others but my time and some of my knowledge. I visit to a local orphanage almost twice every month and here too the kids need just some of the time... It is something that I can donate and contribute to get me some happiness and peace of mind too. I think somewhere when our looks start getting materialistic we start weighing everything in monetary terms we forget to realize that many a times money is not everything

Few days back one of our friend also, mentioned about this superbowl festival(ya, i m calling it as a festival of sport). And sorry friend, i am an indian, i don't have a chance to watch the super bowl(football match) directly. Even i don't know "it comes in which channel in india". Enjoy well, i think most our american friends are having verymuch interest on this game. I am observing this great taste from our friends. My request is to all of them is, take the game as sporty, one will win, one will loose.

When our parents are already in the twilight of their lives, it is really so important that we take the time to be with them as much as we can. It is the time to let them feel so loved by us, their children. Nothing is more precious to them than our time shared with them. However, we should , even if they aren't on the twilight of their lives let our parents share our time always. It helps in motivating them to live longer.

Yes, for a lot of people, especially elderly is your time. Just taking the time to sit there and listen to them when they are telling a story, or helping them when they need some help, really makes it worth while. I think many times we are too busy and seem to forget one day we will be their age as well (God Willing), and so we need to do our part so others will do unto us when we need them to listen to us more as well.

thats what I did for my son last year flew to Tenn to be with him on his birthday nd stayed a month and on his birhtday we went to the races sohe could race his car

Those are good ideas Gerty, sometimes spending time with someone is the best gift they could ever ask for..:) I don't have anyone to give my time to, I just have my daughter and my two boys, who I am always giving time to anyways..lol

GardenGerty, You are right about that. I think what most older people want is for you to be there. Unfortunately, it seems like most people just ignore the older people, even if it is their parents, until it is too late. If you visit them while they are still around, there won't be the regret that you didn't get to do as much with them when you had the chance. Like one song says, "it's too late when they die to admit you don't see eye to eye". I guess based on that it is also a good idea to talk to them especially if you had some kind of falling out earlier in life. I know my dad did that with his mother's new husband and they got along fine after hashing out their disagreement. Thanks for sharing.

A lot of us are way too busy to take time out to go places and see the peopl we love. We shoul do it while we can and before we regret it. There are family I should go see more often but I hate crowds and there are also people I just don't like in my family. Even so I hope they know that I love them. I guess I have no excuse, I feel stressed though and feel like I need to get away from family before I can truly enjoy their company, if that makes any sense.

Hiya GG, Perhaps a gift and time spent with them is probably and ideal thing for some others that feel like they need a present too. My Mom had not got anything at all. One Day while I was over there I had bought a fabulous velvety Soft Toy Dog it was so soft and cuddly. The minute I walked into the Room she thought it was for her so I was very moved as she reached her arms out for me to give it to her. So I looked at my Husband and I gave it to her. She was so pleased you know apart from the time I spent with her. She had not been given a present in ages from what I got to know. She would not let that little Dog out of her sight either.