Simple Suggestion #179... Make time for someone special

My middle child is a quiet sort, and because she's sandwiched between two girls who are loud, relatively speaking, what she has to say sometimes goes unheard over the din of too many family supper conversations going on at once. So this weekend, well before Suzanna graduates in June and heads off into the world of adulthood, she and I went off on a mother-daughter weekend, and spent some quality time together.

Ever seen a quilted car? Me neither!

We stayed in the quiet of our own separate rooms at the Star of the North Retreat House in St. Albert, just north of Edmonton. Caught a movie on Friday night, went out for breakfast on Saturday morning, and spent some of the day walking along the Sturgeon River trails, enjoying a gorgeous autumn day, and chatting. We bought a few items at the local farmer's market, ran into an incredible quilting display, and walked the founder's trail up Mission Hill. There was a Van Gogh-decorated piano that begged us to play Star Wars duets, which we did, and mini-donuts called our name and filled us up so that we weren't hungry for supper at the usual time. So we went shopping for some music books, visited a beaver dam on the North Saskatchewan River, and drove out to Sandy Beach to watch the sun set over the lake before a late meal. Then we got a little silly, making scary iPod videos of a darkened retreat house! In other words, we had a wonderful weekend together and made some memories that will be treasured for a long time.

Photos courtesy of Suzanna.

In the hustle and hurry of present day society, our hectic lives often mean that we don't have enough time to communicate about the things that are really important, the soul stuff that only gets discussed lazily on a bench overlooking a sunset. So this Simple Suggestion is actually meant as a challenge, especially for parents of teens, but really, for anyone, to make time to connect on a deeper level than the every day once in a while. Perhaps it doesn't require an entire weekend -- it just needs a few dedicated hours with one person and no other distractions.

To put it simply, I can't recommend it enough.

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Click here.