Several years ago we pastored a small church in Garnett Settlement N.B. just outside of Saint John. We were only there for a year but it was a good year with lovely people. Our kids loved exploring the woods around the parsonage and swimming in the creek. And they were loved by the people of the church.
It was a good situation except for the fact that Brad had to hold down a full time job as well as pastoring. He worked for an answering service for a network of funeral homes and was able to offer comfort to people in their greatest time of need. The main drawback of the job was that he had to work 4pm to midnight. So he slept in for a bit in the mornings, worked on sermons and visited in the afternoons and then went to work. It left very little time for the kids.
My husband is a good Dad to his kids and he grieved for the time lost with them. So he came up with a zanny idea one night to build a memory. He came home around 12:30 am and said 'let's get the kids up and go to the Irving Big Stop for breakfast'. I thought it was a great idea. So we woke the kids up and told them we had a surprise for them. We didn't tell them where we were going, just told them to get in the car and we would show them soon.
When we pulled into the restaurant we had to wake Alannah up again and then told them we were going to have breakfast with Dadda. They thought it was a great adventure! We spent the next hour and a half talking and laughing and eating and being together as a family. There were only a few truck drivers in the restaurant and we did get some curious looks but once we told our waitress why we were doing this, she must have told the truckers because we got quite a few smiles after that.
We got home around 3 am and tucked three very happy kids into bed. Years later our kids will still bring that night up and remember it. Brad and I have always thought that it is important to take what you have been given and make the most of it. We have intentionally tried to make memories for our kids and to be together as a family.
Let me encourage you to be intentional in your love towards your family and loved ones. Put some thought into how you can build memories and show your love. You'll never regret it and you will have warm memories to keep you company in the years to come and stronger relationships too.
That was so much fun for me! Just seeing their faces trying to figure out what was going on that late at night was priceless - I'll always treasure that simple adventure that cost very little monetarily, but was something so-o-o-o different from our normal routine.
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