Together Time

I want to share one of my favorite Christmas commercials with you. It is Chick-Fil-A’s first holiday video from 2019, and it has always stuck with me. The story is about Sam, a young girl who just wants to spend time with her family and build a snowman. But everyone is busy doing something else. She ends up at The Time Shop and learns about all kinds of time. Lost time. Time that flies by before you even notice. And then she hears about “together time,” which the timekeeper says is the best kind because it makes memories that last.

Here is the commercial if you want to watch it. It is just two minutes.

I relate to it a lot. When I watch it, I see my own family in that story. My wife and I moving around the house taking care of random things. One kid wrapped up in a game, the other somewhere in his room working on who knows what. And that is assuming we are all home at the same time. That situation does not happen as much as I wish it did.

There is one part that always gets me. I love the quote from the timekeeper. “Together time, the best kind. It can make memories that last forever.” It is simple, but it is true. When I think back on my own childhood, most of my best memories are tied to the holidays. As a kid, my family always put up the Christmas tree on my birthday. It was a special tradition that I always looked forward to. I remember Christmas with my dads side of the family when all the cousins were together. It was loud and crowded, but I loved it. As an adult, I really enjoy the time we spend with my mom and my sister’s family playing Christmas games. On Christmas Day we go to Carissa’s family, play cards, eat way too much, and just enjoy being together. And my favorite tradition of all is when the boys, Carissa, and I spend the night in the living room under the lights of the Christmas tree and watch Christmas movies. It is simple, but it is my favorite thing we do.

I know this season is busy for all of you. School does not slow down just because the calendar says it should. There are programs, meetings, grading, and a hundred small things pulling at you. I just want to remind you to make room for your people when you can. Some things can wait. Some things should wait. The time you spend with family or friends is what you and they will remember.

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“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. ~ Rick Warren

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” ~ Theophrastus 

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn