The Best Christmas Present.

There's an art to gift giving. The perfect present is is one that is both unexpected and indispensable. It's gift says I know you better than you think I do. Or even I know you better than you know yourself. I've been fortunate. I've received more than my share of great gifts in my lifetime.

A few, though, stand out. Early in our marriage my wife surprised me with a leather bomber jacket. I had wanted a leather jacket all my life but had never told anyone. I loved that jacket—and wore that sucker out in a few years (ripped it on a barbed wire fence, left it in the rain, kept it in the jeep until the dye faded to white). One year Matt gave me a little pocket multi-tool that turned out to be the perfect size to slip into a pocket or a fishing vest. I used that a lot until it was lost—like all things seem to disappear in my fishing vest. A former boss gave me a leather bound journal--which became my lifetime hike log. My brother gave me a stainless steel thermos which kind of baffled me at the time, but quickly became indispensable. I was a crushed a couple years ago when I dropped and broke the cap. It was the perfect size between small and large—and I have not found anything to replace it.

I didn't know I wanted or needed any of these things—until they became irreplaceable and deeply intertwined with my life.

The best present I ever received , though, was the last one I ever got from my mom and dad. It must have been the last year I lived at home in 1983. It was a Black & Decker tool set from K-Mart that contained a circular saw, a jig saw and a drill. At the time I was a college graduate slacker working at McDonald's and mass-mailing resumes to ad agencies across the country. The gift of tools was both unexpected and maybe a little bit wishful on their part. I promptly put them back in the box and forgot about them.

Flash forward to today. Those three tools have followed me my whole life. I have used them on and off again for thirty some years. They haven't wore out. They haven't failed. I can't think of anything else I owned back in Michigan that is still with me today. They were the perfect gift both practically and symbolically.

All a parent can hope for is to bestow upon their child the tools to succeed in life. Do that, and you've given the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad. Thank you forever.