Way back in August ? my son gave me a book, it was a hardback with pages full of questions about my life. I was asked to complete it and give it back to him as a Christmas present. What a lovely idea I thought and chose a special pen which would be used for every single entry so that they were all the same colour and style.

It started well, I found myself time travelling through my life, writing about my Mum and Dad, then through my school years and teens. My music memories and of course when I met my husband.

I then realised that my words would not be enough and started to look for photographs that would illustrate the text. That is when it became a marathon ? so many questions and so little time. My father had taken photo slides when I was a kid and I was hoping to get some of the pictures from them ? especially the ones of my Irish cousins and childhood holidays back ?home?. But sadly these were not ready in time.

Then there were the early photos of me and my husband to be ? I realised my son may never have seen these photos and as his Dad had died some years back ? would never see or hear about our ?courting days?. So I climbed up to the high cupboard again to drag yet more of my photo albums out into the light of day ? yes there were some of Ireland, many of me as a baby, through to my teen years and right up to our wedding day.

I managed to match a lot of them up to the answers I had written and stuck in a few fun ones to illustrate some of the madness from when my son was young.

The book became thicker and more dog-eared as i travelled through my journey ? but at last, in the week before Christmas it was almost complete! the pen had run out of ink long ago and the text was in many colours but hey! I got there!

A few questions remained unanswered: one of them ?What would you like your epitaph to say?? ? I left for a later date?? and some of the others need photos that I haven?t found yet.

But ? my boy unwrapped it along with his other presents and he and his wife sat looking through my life?. there were tears and smiles and hugs ? it was wonderful.

I have a feeling this book will be shown to generations of my family ? yes, its started already ? my son and daughter in law are expecting their first baby in May this year!!!

I do recommend giving this to a family member to complete but in some ways I feel for the recipient!!!!

I?ve added the description below ? just in case anyone else wants to buy it ? but if you want it back for Christmas ? give it now so there?s plenty of time!!!

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WINNER OF GIFT OF THE YEAR 2008! Here is a gift from me to you . . . for you to give back to me! Capture precious memories, experiences, family insights and social history from the life of your mother in this quality hard-back journal. Have you ever wondered what your mother was like when she was a child? What was it like to be young back then . . . and what are the biggest changes she has seen in her lifetime? Intrigued about what she enjoyed . . . or even how she met your father? Interested in discovering fascinating facts about your ancestors? What about you and your relationship with your mother . . . how did she feel when she found out he she was pregnant with you? . . . what are her memories of you as a child & what made her proud? . . . what does she like about you & is there anything she’d change? We rarely talk about these things with our loved ones yet these are questions that lead to precious answers . . . answers that will, one day, be lost forever. This unique journal includes insightful questions to give your mother the chance to find that ‘book’ within him . . . and give you a story that you will treasure and pass down through the generations. The perfect gift . . . that lasts forever.