A Different Christmas Present

Christmas was different this year.  Our home is finally an empty nest, our younger daughter having graduated from college and moved West to the same town where her sister lives. Last year we traveled there, a long drive with bad weather on the drive home.  Why not meet somewhere a bit further south?  We chose Moab, Utah.  We booked a single room that sleeps six---the first place I've seen with queen-sized bunk beds---and met our daughters and their men there.  We had a great time hiking, exploring, and soaking in the outdoor hot tub.  

But that is not what this is about.  Instead, it's about the present I received.

But first, a bit of family history.

Back in 1992, I was a bachelor teaching geology at the University of New Orleans.  My mom still lived in Walnut Cove, NC, in the house I grew up in, and I planned to visit her for the holidays. Mom was always generous with presents, but I knew of nothing in particular that I needed.  So I sent mom a list of 10 questions and asked her to answer them as my present.  I started with "What was life like when you were a little girl?"

My mom, Ina Easley.

Mom bought a journal, answered the questions, and included some photos like the one above.

My daughters have seen the journal and heard me talk about it, a prized possession.  And Anderson Copper's podcast about grief that he started when cleaning out his mom's apartment after she died stimulated me to revisit and digitize it.  It's available here.

 This year, they decided to do something similar.

Ananda and Tess bought a journal and wrote early and good memories of their time with me while growing up.  Then they gave me a list of questions to answer, which I'm currently working on.