Husband of the Year

This year Jon gave me a gift that I didn't think was possible - my own book, that I wrote, without even knowing I was writing it.

He had this very blog made into a beautiful, hardcover book complete with table of contents, photos, and reader comments and it's one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen.  I remember when I was really little, 4 or 5 years old, my mom opened a diamond necklace from my dad on Christmas Day and it made her cry.  I remember thinking that it looked like a really nice necklace, why would she cry about it?  This was my version of that diamond necklace.

The book was made through a site called SharedBook, who offer lots of create-a-book services including a Blog2Print option.  Jon was able to choose the front and back cover photos, the book color (which is adorned with my favorite color, green) and he even wrote a touching dedication on page 1 (which we'll keep private but know that it was very nice). 

I guess I never really thought of my personal reasons for keeping up with the blog.  It started as something to do, then it developed into a way to keep family and friends connected with us while we live abroad, but the book makes me realize that I've really been keeping a journal of sorts for us to look back at to remember this very memorable part of our lives.  A very public, shared, journal.  I also like to think that it can serve as a reference guide to living in Buenos Aires, and I place it in the Argentina reference book section of our bookshelves.  I love Lonely Planet as much as the next guy, but when you're moving in vs. just stopping by for a visit/vacation, there are certainly topics these other books don't cover. 

 You know how people say that they would not be able to write a book because they don't have enough to write about?  I was one of those people and can say that I respectfully disagree, and now I have an over-200-page-book to prove it.  Now, if anyone is interested in reading that book is another story, but considering you're reading this right now I'm guessing that at least someone wants to read what I write :).  Either way, it was a highlight of Christmas to open this thoughtful, unique gift that certainly warrants the Husband of the Year prize in my eyes.  Kudos, Jon - I absolutely love it!