“If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.”

~ Abigail Van Buren

When I was a young, single mother of two, I didn’t have much money.  I was flat broke but the one thing that I made sure of was that I spent time with my kids.  I did this religiously.  No matter how tired I was.  No matter the long work hours.  No matter the marathon study sessions to complete my college assignments.  I made time for them.

Why?

Because my kids were the most important thing in my life.  They still are, and yes, I still make time for them.  Not as much as I should, and today’s inspirational quote functions as a reminder that I need to make more time for them now, even though they are all grown up.  They’re young adults yet I believe they still need their mother.  Hell, they still need their dad.  They need both of us.

All the time spent with them as they grew is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons they have grown into such wonderful adults.  Sure, they still make mistakes.  They make unwise choices at times, but at the core of them, they are good people.

They have great values.  They have character.  They have integrity.  They are engaged in life.  There’s nothing more that I could ask for.  I raised wonderful human beings.  I believe it’s because I invested more time in them than money.  Sure, raising them wasn’t cheap by any means, but the time we spent together yielded the greatest value.

If you have young children, instead of buying toys or gaming systems, take them to the park to go roller blading.  Do some volunteer work with them.  Show them the wonders that are all around them on this earth.  Show them that they are valued through the time you spend with them.  The dividends are unlimited.