Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?” Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?” Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “OK.” “My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”

Reflection

We all know that we live in a world that is finite, it has a beginning and an end. We all know that there is no such thing as “all the time in the world,” yet we live our lives as if we have all the time in the world… We spend so much time waiting for the perfect moment to do something, but this perfect moment may never come and we land up putting things off forever, regretting it in the future. Life is all about making priorities and sticking to them. I would suggest you start at the top of the list with spending more time with your family and the people closest to you. Don’t underestimate how precious each minute spent with someone you love is. As the father in the above story… Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today, you won’t regret it!!

Wish you an awesome 2014!
Darren Zwiers

“Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today” - Benjamin Franklin.