Quality Time

I love the theme of this painting. As summer ends and the kids start back to school and our lives return to a more "normal" pattern, I hope you take a breath and reflect on what you are doing to make memories with your children. As I look back on raising our kids a major regret is that we didn't take the time for the little vacations. By that I mean the day trips to the beach or a weekend camping that we could have sneaked into our busy schedules, but we didn't.

Time slips by so quickly, and soon the opportunities to build those precious memories are lost. Just ask Adam. With Jade going off to college this year, his time with her is dramatically changed. I'm sure he would like to hold onto her a bit longer, but our lives march forward and there isn't a lot we can do about it.

I am always pleased to see the photos you guys take that capture those special times. The day at the beach, the picnic at the park, the soccer and softball games are all opportunities to build memories of good times together as a family. These will be the anchors that your children will cling to during troubled times. Most of these kinds of activities don't involve spending a lot of money, they just require an investment of time and a realization of what our important priorities should be. Do all that you can do so that they can be all that they should be.