More than ever before, people are looking for a special and unique way to express themselves when it comes to gift giving. With the internet putting the world at our fingertips, people are finding that they are able to give more personalized gifts than ever before. Let’s take a look at tow of the most popular personalized gift-giving ideas: having a tree planted, and naming a star.

Memorial Trees

To start off, let’s explore the idea of planting a tree. Giving a tree makes a marvelous, long-lasting gift for anyone. You can now have a young tree planted to honor a special person, pet, or occasion.

It’s a unique way to show you care in a special, creative way. It’s a living gift that gives lasting recognition to the person and involves them in a partnership of renewing the forests in their state or province.

Memorial trees are one of the most meaningful ways to express your sympathy. While flowers fade, the thought of a young tree being planted for someone will last a lifetime. A memorial planting is a remembrance of the past and at the same time a renewing of life. The customized package consisting of a Sympathy Letter, Sympathy Card, and Certificate of Planting sent on your behalf is a very personal way of recognizing the deceased.

You may have a tree planted in honor of any person, pet, or occasion. Some of the special times often honored with tree plantings include: Valentine’s Day, Engagements, Weddings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Christmas, Graduations, or anytime you would like to say “thank you”, “get well soon”, “congratulations”, or send any special message of your choice!

Naming A Star

Naming a star also makes a marvelous, eternal gift for anyone. From parents to spouses to top employees; everyone appreciates the unique present of their very own star to look to in the night sky. Here are some of the benefits of naming a star:

- The perfect gift for a loved one

- An eternal home for your name in the night sky

- Officially recorded by your registrar

- Beautiful certificate and gift package

Typically a star naming package will allow you to choose which constellation you would like your star to reside in. For example, you can name a star in any of fifteen constellations: choose from all twelve zodiac signs, plus the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and Orion.

Whether planting a tree, naming a star, or exploring any of the numerous personal gifts available on the web, please exercise caution before making any purchase. I hope you’ve found these ideas inspirational, and I wish you the best in your gift giving experiences.

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Does your business have an emergency response plan? What about your family crisis response plan? Who needs to know your whereabouts in an emergency? Spouse? Children? Parents? Boss? Coworker? What if the phone lines are down? What if the Internet is not available? The chilling scenes of the terrorist attack at the Russian school are enough to compel us to think about our own situations.

In business, we have contingency management, “con-man.” For the Army I helped write and exercise contingency plans. In our personal lives, we should also consider in advance those times when life throws us a curve, when things don’t go the way we planned.

One very useful technique is to do mental “what if” drills in order to anticipate situations before they occur. Use your “over the horizon” radar to look into the future. Then run different scenarios through your mind. What if there was a bomb threat while you were visiting another office and everyone had to evacuate the building? You have to take your mother to the hospital in a few minutes and your car keys are in the building with your cell phone and all your money. Your coworkers are in the same situation. Whom could you contact? What are your options?

Large companies hire people to gather information, look into the future, and think up plausible scenarios of challenges and opportunities the company may face in the future. The company is then able to do contingency planning. You can benefit from those techniques, too.

Why not apply a “what if” drill to a few scenarios for yourself and your family just in case you are ever caught up in an ordinary emergency situation or terrorist activity. In the Army Operations Center, we did recall drills. We had a recall plan where within a very short time everyone could be called back to work. It works like a chain reaction. The person at the top of the list calls two or three people and each of those call two or three people, and quickly any number of people can be contacted. Prayer groups and others have also used this technique to contact many people in a very short time.

Think of your personal and professional responsibilities. How many telephone numbers do you know off the top of your head? Do you have them written down or stored in your cell phone or PDA so others can make the contact if you are unable to? Should you establish a notification chain so that with one completed phone call, everyone who needs to know can be notified? What if the phone lines are down? Is email available? If you can only reach a coworker, will that person know whom else to contact? This is a very practical “what if” drill you can conduct immediately. What if you were caught up in an emergency situation tomorrow? Would you be better prepared than you were yesterday?

“What if” drills can boost your confidence. Even if the challenging events you encounter in “real life” are not the precise scenario you thought up, you will have practice in creative problem solving. Stuff happens. Looking “over the horizon,” anticipating, and doing “what if” drills will ensure that you are prepared.

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How fortunate I was at age 39 to find out I was finally going to be a mother after all! My gynecologist was less than pleased to learn of the impending birth at my advanced age and advised me to “train like an athlete” if I was to have a healthy baby. Train I did, continuing my usual fitness program of daily runs with my new husband and stepson, as well as swimming at the local gym.

Matthew Michael was born just after my 40th birthday a healthy, happy dream come true. It seemed like no time that he was walking. I remember one evening I was cleaning up the last remnants of dinner when I heard a squeal of delight. I turned to see my two year old standing in the kitchen with his pajama top on and nothing else save for my black high heels! He opened his mouth with a wide grin to reveal a piece of dog food kibble neatly tucked behind the tip of his tongue. He knew our yellow lab’s food was off limits, so this made it all the more delicious.

The seasons of love and laughter have sped by and now as the teenage years are underway, this spring we finally spent a week cleaning out broken toys, dress-up pirate hats and swords, and nightlights that are no longer needed, to be replaced with posters of fast cars, swimming ribbons and snowboarding photos.

“What about this old stuff?” was my son’s innocent question. He had found the top drawer where I’d stashed his most precious of baby memories. Into a bag they went destined for a quick sort-through of what was to be saved, given away or tossed. The bag made it to the safety of my home office, or so I thought.

My husband thought something terrible had happened when he came home from his trip to the Goodwill to find me sobbing uncontrollably. When I thought we’d mistakenly thrown out Matt’s first knitted cap and booties along with other precious memorabilia, I went into hysterics. My husband’s expression said it all - no need to explain.

I’m from a far off and bizarre place called Planet Mom, where the unexplainable is known to occur. I’ve stamped my double dibs on past summer camp creations, aged and yellowing handmade cards and drawings, as well as a lock of hair from that first haircut.

I found a handmade Mother’s Day card from long ago the other day that is stored away in my box of treasures that says it all:

“A Mother Is Like.
A beautiful flower;
A defensive player;

A Wise One;
Juliet;
A Wall Of Love;
An All Seeing Eye;
An Annoying Fly;
The Deciding Factor;

And More,
Love, Matt.”

I think that sums it up nicely, don’t you?

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