The Healing Journey

October 19, 2025

The Love of a Mother

By Laura Brennan

In childhood, an iconic and coveted toy or personalized surprise under the tree is tangible love. As we get older though, a gift certificate can be that same treasure. For Christmas, when I was an ambitious 20-year-old college student, my parents gave me the perfect gift: a gift certificate for a Franklin Covey planner, a tool that promised both efficiency and the clarity to execute a principal-centered life.

Our mall had a Franklin Covey store. I eagerly approached the mid-sized planners that were portable enough to carry all over campus, but large enough to track my studies, meetings, and service projects. Brown, black, or purple leather? Zip-bound or button-up? Contrasting color seams or matching ones? Daily calendar pages or weekly ones? Blue pages, green pages, or white ones? Should the time be broken into hours or morning/noon/night? I loved every decision.

I headed to the counter with my beautiful brown leather planner, calculator insert, daily calendar pages, and the bookmark that contained Franklin Covey’s signature Weekly Compass: a system to ensure that my schedule aligns with my life goals, roles, and values.

Those first moments at home with my new planner were the zenith of youthful optimism. I unwrapped the crisp tissue and slowly unzipped the leather planner. I opened each package of filler pages and carefully placed the wrappers in the luxurious shopping bag. I admired every pen and card slot and I opened every pocket. The back pocket had papers in it. I pulled out a receipt and an envelope. Strange, I thought, before realizing that this planner must have been returned, and these items belonged to its previous owner.

I opened the envelope to find a $500 Gap gift certificate inside. Five hundred dollars!

Over the next few hours, I did some sleuthing. I had a little information from the store receipt and the envelope. I called the store and was able to get a name and city/state from their credit card records. I hit the phone book and used my dial-up internet to search the new online telephone directories. I narrowed my search down to about 5 people and I called them. I had a few awkward conversations and left a few phone messages. I had done my very best, used up an afternoon, and it seemed that I might be going on a shopping spree.

The next day my telephone rang. “Hello.”
”Hi, is this Laura Marusa?”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Robin. You left me a message yesterday?”
“Yes, I bought a Franklin Covey planner and found something inside.”
“My Gap gift certificate!” she exclaimed through tears.
“Yes, exactly! It’s yours?”
“I can’t believe you found me. How did you find me? I never thought…” her voice trailing off.
”There was a store receipt, and they gave me your last name. I called a few people hoping to find you.”

”The gift certificate was a gift from my mom. I had gotten a promotion at Pier One Imports. She gave it to me for my birthday, to get some new work clothes. She was really sick at the time. She has since died from cancer. I was so upset when I lost the gift certificate. She asked me over and over if I had found it. The very last time I saw her in the hospital, she asked me again. I was embarrassed and frustrated to have to tell her no. She told me, ‘Don’t worry, Honey, you’ll find it.’ I never thought about the planner. I returned it months ago. I couldn’t believe it when I got your message. I can’t believe you called.”

We exchanged contact information, so I could mail her the gift certificates. A few weeks later, I received a thank you note and a $25 gift certificate to Pier One Imports. I bought a soft blue decorative pillow for my dorm room bed. My kids recently found the pillow stuffed in the linen closet and commented on its softness and beautiful color. In that instant, a decades old memory flooded my heart with a moment when a planner, a lost gift certificate, and a pillow were actually the love of a mother.
©Laura Brennan

(Laura Brennan is a lifelong parishioner of St. Rose of Lima in Newtown.)

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