Week 36: The Thoughtful Present-Giver

Many years ago, I transferred to a different job in my company and moved from Chicago back to the Philadelphia area where I grew up. I'd been in Chicago for a long time, and I loved it there.

Even though there were good reasons to go back to Philly, it was a difficult move for me, my husband and our young daughter (who never lived anywhere except Chicago). We loved our city and our little house...we loved our friends...basically we loved our life.

But we'd been away from family too long, and we were feeling the pull of home. My job was fine but I'd been doing it for a while and was antsy for a new opportunity. Luckily, there was an opening and I was able to transfer.

My new boss understood the mixed feelings I had. One day he surprised me with a gift -- a double-CD set with music from The World Cafe Live, a great show from the local Philadelphia public radio station. He knew I loved the show and had missed it while living in Chicago. The CDs were a taste of home and a reminder of the good things about my move.

A lot of my favorite songs are on there, including one that has become our family road trip anthem. Just the other day -- seventeen years after I received his gift -- we popped the CD in the car and listened to "Get out the map, get out the map and lay your finger anywhere down" by the Indigo Girls as we started a summer road trip to Maine. Now that's a gift that keeps on giving!

Photo by Natalie Perea on Unsplash