Five more minutes!

Often, I stumble upon stories and quotes that really define either the point I am trying to make, or something I am stumbling along with. In today's world, it is so easy to push for immediate gratification or for things to run "according to plan". A good example for me are those visa check card commercials I have been seeing lately. You know the ones where the guy/gal attempts to pay with cash or a check when everyone else is using their debit card. All of a sudden the smooth "nature" of the operation grinds to a halt. It's easy to get caught up in society's expectation of behavior and forget that which should be our most prized possession--time and who/what we spend it with. I rediscovered this story today and thought it was a perfect reminder of the importance of our time:

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. "He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my son on the swing in the blue sweater." Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. "What do you say we go, Todd?" Todd pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes." The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. "Time to go now?" Again Todd pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "O.K." "My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, "My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch him play." Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities? Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today. Author unknown

I did just that. I woke up this morning with the worst migraine I have had in months and a general feeling of becoming increasingly depressed. Then my dog jumped up in bed, as he does every day, but for some reason, today, I took the hint. I called in sick to work, slept another 4 hours, and then made the whole day about us. First, we went for a walk around the neighborhood. While Petey made it his mission to water all the trees along the way, I made it a mission to talk to every person we met. Needless to say, I met 5 neighbors, two of which had been here for over 10 years. I can't tell you how many times I walked right past their homes, and paid more attention to their landscaping than them. Today, I wanted to waste no more time.

Next, I loaded Petey up in the truck and we made his first ever trip to Lowes. You would have thought I had taken him to doggy heaven. He sniffed everything and everybody, as I tried to keep control of a 65 pound bird dog in the electronics section. The concept of "you break it you bought it" was definitely reigning true in my head at that time. We got out of there with some new edging material, an electronic hedge clipper, and some mulch. Then we went home and got to work.

It turned into a great day, with a new front landscape and loads of new friends. Some times, just five more minutes is all you need. In dog years, I learned, five more minutes can turn into a full day.