Katy McKenna Raymond  
Personal blog of christian writer Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri


Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary

Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net

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Gifts That Keep Giving

There are presents, and then there are presents. Right?

Assuming it's not the size of the package or the cost of the gift that counts the most, are there certain qualities that go into making a memorable gift?

The thing that always impresses me the most, when I receive a gift I truly cherish, is how well the giver knows me.

Maybe that's why the Father's gift of his Son means so much. He knew my heart, and what it would take to touch it.

Have you received a gift that stands out from all the others? Name one, and tell us why it meant so much to you.

One of the Christmas gifts I've cherished the most is a Kinko's-produced book my mother assembled, of all the poems my father ever wrote. Oh, my. Each of us kids received one--maybe ten years ago, or so--and we laughed and cried the rest of the day as we took turns reading his poetry aloud.

My mother hand-wrote my father's poems before having them copied and bound. At the time, I wished she'd typed them, or that they were in my father's original hand, but now I love the fact that she wrote them. It made it a project they worked on together somehow, even though he was long dead when she "published" his work.

This was a gift that cost my mother about $1 per copy, but brought all of us so much enjoyment.

Thanks, Mom...and you, too, Dad.
Posted by Katy on 12/16/04 at 09:17 AM
Fallible Comments...
  1. Katy, that IS a wonderful gift! One thing I plan to do is somehow publish, for my family, my dad's entries into a book I bought him several years ago called "Grandpa, Tell Me About Your Memories," or something like that. Each page for a calendar year began with a question aimed at prompting memories, like "what was your favorite toy as a child?" My dad filled out most of the book, and when he got too ill to do it himself, I wrote for him, so much of the book is complete. I think it's going to be priceless.
    -----
    Posted by Cindy Swanson  on  12/16/04  at  04:48 PM
  2. My mom wrote a "children's" book/poem for my brother, a cousin, and me, called, "Jeans, Genes, and Jellybeans," complete with photographsa and drawings, etc... It's about how we have a legacy of getting injured, passed down from our grandmother. It was such an amazing gift and I love finding it on the bookshelf once in a while. :)
    Posted by timsamoff  on  12/16/04  at  06:02 PM
  3. Wonderful post, and such a lovely memory. You have a special mom.

    When I was pregnant with my first child due to be born in May, my husband surprised me with an emerald ring, May's birthstone. Now that my daughter is grown, I gave her that ring. I hope she cherishes it as much as I cherish the memory of my husband's thoughtfulness.
    Posted by Donna  on  12/16/04  at  06:16 PM
  4. When I was pregnant with my number one, I was diagnosed with pre-elampsia and put on bed rest for the last month and a half. My due date was December 23rd, so I was unable to do anything to decorate or get ready for Christmas. We lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment and had no room for a tree anyway. I wanted to put up some other stuff, but the doctor wouldn't allow me to be up off the couch for that long. Anyway, she induced me on December 12th and I had Natalie Friday the 13th in the morning. We stayed in the hospital for five days because she was only 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The day we came home, I walked in to a Christmas fairyland! My husband had decorated and even gotten a little table-top Christmas tree with lights and balls. Our new daughter and that Christmas tree were the best presents I'd ever received!
    Posted by Carrie K.  on  12/16/04  at  09:36 PM
  5. You know what I love about all of your "favorite gifts," or in Cindy's case, a gift she plans to give in the future? It took more than a sentence to tell us about it--you couldn't just say "a ring" or "a book," instead it took a story to tell us WHY it meant so much to you, and the why always came down to people. Yeah. I love that a lot...thanks!
    Posted by Katy Raymond  on  12/19/04  at  02:19 AM
  6. A few years ago, when asked what I wanted for Christmas I told my mom I wanted an apron like my grans. My gran(dead for twenty years now) was a tall, big woman and worked in food services. Her apron went to her knees and since Im a...messy cook, one of those sounded perfect. That Christmas, at my moms house I recieved an old, yellowing, smelling like my grans house apron. My grans apron. I cried. My mom cried. My sisters cried. My husband looked at me like I was CRAZY. Best gift I ever got. Easily made up for all those years of not getting a pony. ;)
    Posted by Valerie  on  12/23/04  at  03:27 AM
  7. Valerie--SO sweet. I have aprons of my mother's and grandmother's--they are wonderful. But no single one stands out as THE one they always wore--that makes it a perfect gift.

    In the long run, it's amazing how many little things can end up making up for the lack of a pony! Merry Christmas to you and your apron!
    Posted by Katy Raymond  on  12/23/04  at  01:47 PM
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