I love to give unique gifts. I prefer giving things that are unpredictable and totally out of the box. Jan has gone on trips that she had no clue I was planning. I have sent packages to friends that they were not expecting. It is so fun to run across some random item in a store and intuitively know that it would make the perfect gift for a loved one. Books that fit the interests of the recipient are always cool gifts. The whole process of putting together the ultimate surprise for someone I care about energizes me.

This week professional golfer Phil Mickelson outdid himself in the clever gift department. As you may recall, both Mickelson’s wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer last summer. Phil provided passes to a recent tournament for radiation oncologist Dr. Tom Buchholz from M.D. Anderson in Houston, his family and other hospital staff members. Such tournament passes are very coveted! It was a really nice gesture on Phil’s part. But that was not the sum of the gift by any stretch of the imagination….

Mickelson had Dr. Buchholz caddie for him for three holes during one of his rounds at the tournament. THAT is a cool gift! Professional golfers depend on their caddies for counsel on club choice, slope estimations on the green and a host of other things that can impact their game dramatically. A good caddie is priceless. Who would not want to caddie for one of golf’s greatest players?

When someone has taken care of the people you love the most, there is not much you would not do for them. Obviously Dr. Buchholz has made an impact in the Mickelson family during a very scary time. That family has entrusted the lives of two of their members to this man’s care. Last Sunday in Humble, Texas Phil Mickelson thought of a rather unique way to say thank you to a special person.

After reading this story this afternoon, I could not help but think about Debbie. Debbie was the RN with Hospice who took care of my mother during her final weeks on this earth. She was with us when my mother drew her final breaths in 1991. She was like part of our family during that time period. I thought of the nurses in the emergency room who took care of Randall when he was terribly ill at age 5. They were great. I thought of the ob/gyn who took care of Jan when we experienced a miscarriage in 1995.

I am fairly certain that I thanked each of those individuals in ways I thought at the time were appropriate and fitting. But I realized today that perhaps I should invest my skills in clever gift giving more wholeheartedly toward those who take care of my family during times of significant crises. Phil’s choice of caddies at the Houston Shell Open this past weekend has me inspired. Saying thank you is a good thing. Saying thank you in memorable ways makes for wonderful memories on the part of everyone involved.