Dear Grandparents, All Kids Want For Christmas is You

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I didn’t mean to cry. It just happened.

I wiped furiously at my hot cheeks, hoping my eye makeup hadn’t smeared, and wondering if anyone in my meeting in a few minutes would notice my stuck-together mascara.

It wasn’t even a picture of her or a song on the radio that reminded me of her. It wasn’t a scent reminding me of her favorite perfume. It wasn’t a Facebook memory reminding me of sweet times.

It was an article someone shared about grandparents giving the gift of time to their grandkids this Christmas.

It was perfect.

It was exactly the kind of gift she would give them because that’s who she was.

She was the woman who lived in the moment yet lived ever mindful of the future and our purpose here on earth.

She was the woman who didn’t give a hoot what people thought and would swing from a tree at her grandkid’s birthday party if it brought a smile on their face.

She was the woman who sat for hours teaching them how to sew because she knew their mother couldn’t give them that and it was fine. It was perfect.

She was the woman who’d snatch them up for a random Chick-fil-A date because her patience in the play area lasted much longer than mine. And those ice dreams were everything.

She was the woman who would show up and sit and chat for hours with the older women who felt forgotten, washed up, and unneeded.

She loved people. She loved life. She loved Jesus.

And she would’ve loved to give the gift of adventure and time to her grandkids this Christmas.

If she were here.

But she isn’t.

She’s at home with our dear Lord and we miss her with everything in us. But I hope this is an encouragement to you (and me) to live an adventure-filled life and make time for our family. I know kids can be a handful and when you’re older and you’ve gotten used to your routine, kids can sometimes mess that up.

It’s easier to buy them toys or clothes or all the things for them to open at Christmas. But dear friend, please don’t.

Please give them the gift of YOU this Christmas.

Give them one on one grandparent/grandkid dates. Give them family dates. Give them your time, your hugs, your love.

That’s what they really want. That’s what lasts longer than any toy you could wrap and place under the Christmas tree.

Grandparents, give them YOU this Christmas.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page

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Amanda Wells

Amanda Wells is the proud wife of a smokin’ hot third-generation farmer, and they have taken Psalm 127:5 literally, raising their quiverful of six kids on the farm. She loves baking, reading, writing, and arithmetic (kidding!). Amanda writes about faith, homeschooling on the farm, and family life at farmwyfe.com.

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Please give them the gift of YOU this Christmas.

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Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

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