The Blessing of Time

Wholesome family recreation is an important part of family unity and bonding. In my experience, children want nothing more than time and love. When we give our time to our children, it requires us to be fully engaged and listening to what they're saying. Our world is fast paced and busy, and it's not always easy to break away from this in order to pay attention to our children. That is why it is so important that we use our free time wisely, and in doing activities that will give our children our time and build solid relationships. In the book Successful Marriages and families it says "free time should be used wisely to create the best possible life, to promote individual growth and strengthen families" (Successful Marriages and Families, Hawkins, p. 225). This quote gives purpose to why we should strive for good family activities; they allow us to create a wonderful life, strengthen our familes and help us grow. Fun doesn't always have to come packaged as family vacations, trips to Disneyland, and other activities that cost large amounts of money. Some of my most fond memories as a child came from doing the small things in life with my family. I can remember doing a lot of work at my grandparents house, but it never felt like work because it was so fun! We would help grandpa in the yard pruning his trees, mowing the lawn, and weeding the garden. In turn, he'd allow us to take rides in the wheel barrow filled with grass clippings, climb ladders to reach the high branches that needed clipping, and eat fresh sugar peas from his garden. I looked forward to the quality time that I spent with my grandparents, and to this day, these are some of my most fond memories from childhood. Sure I remember the family vacations, and trips to the local amusement park, but they don't compare to the fun we had at grandma and grandpas house.

 

I think sometimes we become so caught up in life that we forget to do the little things that can bring happiness or, we feel discouraged if our life doesn't always feel joyful. Experiencing emotions in life besides just joy and fun can help strengthen families as well. Again from the Successful Marriages and Families book it states "The true meaning of being alive is not just to feel happy, but to experience the full range of human emotions" (Successful Marriages and Families, Hawkins, p. 227). I can remember particpating in wholesome recreation with my family as my parents were going through a divorce. It was a diffcult time so as we struggled through this trial, my mother tried to be mindful of doing things that would help us to reflect and work through our feelings. One of our most favorite activies was to take long drives through the Provo Canyon. We'd hop in the car, mom would turn on some music and we'd just think. We'd listen to music, sing, laugh, reflect on the beauty and peace of the canyon, and have conversations about life. Sometimes we felt emotions other than happiness. We were sad, angry, hurt, or confused by the situation, but as we felt these emotions together, and spent quality time reflecting there was a bonding and strengthing power that took place. My point is that wholesome family recreation doesn't have to be in the form of a lavish trip, it can be found in spending quality time together, feeling emotions, having fun, working, or through any other method that promotes growth and strengthening.