Coffee and Conversation with the #Romance Gems

It's time for Coffee and Conversation with the Romance Gems! So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us for some fun. This month's topic is: Best gift given or received

It’s the season of giving – no, not Christmas! Rather the weeks that hold Mother’s and Father’s Day here in the USA. A time when many exchange gifts. So, tell us, what is the best gift you’ve ever given or received? A macaroni necklace or diamond ring? A vacation, poem, card, pet, or warm hug?

“Playing Santa one year, I gave my daughter a saddle. Santa had skipped her Christmas morning, but when she returned to my house, Santa had left the saddle. Unfortunately, at that time, he didn’t leave the horse.” ~ Jan Scarbrough

"The best gift I've ever received for Mother's Day was my first child. She came eleven days earlier than expected and was born the day before Mother's Day that year. An amazing gift that keeps on giving joy!" ~ Bonnie Edwards

“When my three children were younger, my husband would take them on Mother's Day and go visit his mother. This would leave me alone to have some time for myself. I saw them every day all year long so the gift of alone time was fabulous.” ~ Kari Lemor

“I don't have children, and my parents are long gone. However, the best Mother’s Day gift I've ever received was when my stepson wished me a Happy Mother's Day and went with my husband and me to take me out for dinner. It was the one and only time he'd ever acknowledged me as his step-mother.” ~ Constance Bretes

"The best gift I ever gave was to my mother. She'd been struggling financially since my father's passing a few years before. I happened to be blessed with a very decent advance on a book deal and used it to pay off all her debts just in time for her 75th birthday. They say money can't buy happiness but I think, in this case, they were wrong." ~ Nancy Fraser

"A gift that stands out for me is one I gave my elderly aunt back in the 1990s. For years she'd been writing poetry and had been offering it for publication in her church bulletin and in various periodicals in exchange for free copies. She would make Xerox copies of these poems and send them to me, the niece who got her writing gene. So one Christmas I compiled her poems into a booklet we were able to mass produce via our computer. We slapped a cardstock cover on it, picking up the title from one of her poems (The Golden Hour and Other Poems by Marie Gray) and comb bound it. We put 30 copies of the book in a box and sent it to her for Christmas. You would have thought I'd given her a million dollars. I don't think I've ever given or received a gift that brought me so much pleasure." ~ Cheryl Bolen

"When I was a teenager, I showed horses. One Christmas my parents went in and got me a beautiful show saddle with sterling silver decorations that I'd been told we couldn't afford. Best. Gift. Ever." ~ Karen Whiddon

"I have two favorite gifts, but there’s a common theme. The first was when Mr. H. gifted me my first RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference trip back in 2010, held at Disney's Swan & Dolphin Resorts. I was a newbie writer—totally overwhelmed—yet the experience gave me the inspiration and push I needed to finish my book. Next was when my daughter surprised me with a 'girl’s getaway' to Disney. My grown-up daughter, buying us matching t-shirts and mouse ears? Magical memories, indeed!"
~ Kathryn Hills

"The best gift I have received is my birthday gift in 2001. My Hero and I went on a 25-day tour of Ireland, England, Scotland, and one town in Wales. It was a lovely tour and I hated for it to end. This was not our first British tour, but was the longest. Hero and I saw lovely places and hope to return someday."
~ Caroline Clemmons

"The best gift I’ve given was a few years ago. I made two recipe books for my daughters. The pages were filled with hand written recipes from their great grandmothers and other family members. When they opened them on Christmas morning we laughed and cried over the memories. Putting together these books was a labor of love and I’m glad I did for my daughters. Now they have a tiny reminder of the women who came before them." ~ Lucinda Race

"Growing up a girl, I was never given Santa presents that weren't specifically made for XY gene types. I begged for Roc'Em Soc'Em robots for 3 three years, from aged 5-8. Never got it because it wasn't a girl themed toy - so I was told! Flash forward 30 years and I mention this around the in-law table one night before Christmas. On Christmas morning there was big, red-bow-tied present under the tree for me, with a card that read: Sorry this took so long, Love Santa. Yup, you guessed it - Roc'Em Soc'Em Robots courtesy of my very own Santa spouse. Best. Gift. Evah!!!" ~ Peggy Jaeger

"My favorite Mother's Day gift was a preschool plaster hand-print impression from both of my sons. They are adults now, with large manly hands, but I still get teary-eyed at the memory of those tiny hands clutching mine."
~ Connie Vines

"In the movie, Shall We Dance starring Antonio Banderas and Susan Sarandon, there's a line Sarandon says that really explains the greatest gift I've ever received. The line goes like this, 'I wish I could give you a gift that comes in a box.'
Well, I wish I could tell you about a gift that came in a box, but the greatest gift I ever received was my husband. Through thick and thin—a lot of thin in the beginning—we've had each other. I've always thought it was Destiny... Fate lending a hand. When he was in high school he bought his first car. He'd been cleaning the car and had removed the back seat. The gleam of gold caught his eye. He found a small plain gold wedding band. He picked it up and put it on his key ring where he carried it for many years. When we "found" each other, we wanted to be married to each other. We didn't think about nitpicky details like planning a wedding. We just wanted to belong to each other. We got a marriage license and met with a the minister who asked if we had rings. After a moment of hilarious blank looks at each other, Larry pulled out his key ring and removed the gold band. The minister smiled and began the ceremony. When Larry slipped the gold band on my ring finger, it fit perfectly, and I wear a small size. That was over 40 years ago. Even though I have a more expensive, rather unique ring now, I still wear the plain gold ring too. It's my Cinderella ring. P. S. One of these days, I'll write a book entitled The Cinderella Ring!" ~ Joan Reeves

"When my husband was in the Army he had a short layover in Iceland. He bought me a blue carnation and gave it to me when he landed in Dallas. He still gives me blue carnations."
~ Karen Kelly

"I always think the best, most meaningful gifts don’t carry a hefty price tag, but have a lot of thought involved. I take credit for this one. My father-in-law was a carpenter who built many homes in the area over his career. After he retired, I got his kids together to compile a list. It took a while, but they all helped snap photos of every home their father ever built, which I mounted into an album (pre-digital days) as a Father’s Day gift. It was so cool to see his reaction as he flipped the pages, viewing photos of his legacy. He could not believe they remembered them all, even some he had forgotten about." ~ Kathleen Lawless

Okay, it's your turn to join the conversation! We'd love to hear from you. Add your comments below or send via email through the "contact us link on the bottom of the left sidebar. You can also make suggestions on what you'd like to discuss here in the future.

Thanks for joining us!

~ The Romance Gems ~

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