An Adventure in Grenada

Hiking, swimming, kayaking, snorkeling…..all components of a fun adventure on a tropical island, but what made this summer vacation one of the “best of the best” experiences ever, was the time we spent with our daughter and son-in-law. My husband and I had never been to the Caribbean before so when our youngest daughter and her husband decided they were moving to Grenada for his SGU Medical School education (one month after they got married), we decided we would have to go visit them sometime during their two years there.
We were treated to an experience of a life time! Practically every detail of our first week here was organized and planned with enthusiasm and attention to every detail. They shared with us the life they have made for themselves here in Grenada. They introduced us to many of their friends, and seemed genuinely thrilled to show us all their favorite spots and places of interest. It was as if we had a private personal tour guide that attended to our every need, including cooking nutritious and delicious meals for us.

You rarely think of the long term benefits of all the hard work you put in day after day when your children are young. You are in survival mode and you actually don’t have time to think about the blessings that might come in the future. The investment of TIME when your children are young has a lasting positive effect on the potential for healthy parent-child relationships when your children become adults. There are no guarantees, but your chances are increased by investing quality time into your children’s lives when they are young. If you establish trust and openness, you help build a healthy sense of security in your child.

As they grew a bit older, one expression of love my husband continually communicated to our children was “there is nothing you can do that will ever cause me to stop loving you”. That does not mean there were never things our kids did that did not frustrate us or disappoint us but they knew our love for them was not dependent on their behavior. We set the bar high and they knew we had family goals of showing our love for others through our actions. It was not always easy for them to honor and respect us as their parents but we loved them with a deep and abiding love even when they messed up. Our love for our children was unconditional. We demonstrated our love by encouraging them to pursue their passions which meant we spent TIME participating in their lives, helping them discover and develop their interests.

One blessing that my husband and I have gained from our commitment to spending quality TIME with our children is that they actually “LIKE” spending time with us now that they are all adults. It is a true joy to be invited to share and experience their lives and their new adventures like we have this past week.

Next time you have a discouraging day disciplining your young child or get frustrated with some childish foolishness that has to be dealt with remember that consistency and TIME spent molding and shaping and loving your children has long lasting benefits!

How has your young child or adult child surprised you lately by opening their heart to you?