24,000

I was taking a friend of mine's daughter to school on the first day. I was thinking about all the things I might get done if my children "went" to school as opposed to being homeschooled. There was a fleeting thought of having brunches with friends, cleaning the house all at once,and reading books to my heart's content. Only a fleeting thought. The thought that came next and lingered was the quantity of time I have been able to spend with my daughters because they do not go off to school every day. I actually calculated it over an 18 year period and came up with it: 24,000 hours. That is a lot of time. A lot of time to laugh. A lot of time to read. A lot of time to collect bugs and delight in trees and learn together. A lot of time to cook together, take walks, play with the pets, write stories and read them to each other. A lot of time to do homework together, play the piano, surprise each other in various ways, read the Bible together and take our time discussing it. A lot of time to talk about our issues, encourage each other, and learn about the wonderful people God put together in our family. A lot of time-yet still not enough. Now a smile was on my face-I raced home to tell my girls this amazing discovery. They looked at me strangely. I think to them 24,000 hours is a lot of time. To me it is just a moment.