When Donna Osness thinks about the gifts she can give her children and grandchildren for Christmas, her mind doesn’t automatically go to the kind of presents that can be wrapped up in a box.

Instead, she thinks of the types of gifts that truly matter – things like dreams, education and compassion.

“There isn’t any toy or anything we can give them materially that will get them through the lifetime they’ll face,” says Osness, a mother of five and grandmother of nine. “But if we give them these kinds of skills and values, they can face these things. With unconditional love and family support, they can get through anything.”

That’s why, in 1990, Osness wrote a book called, “What Shall We Give the Children?” a small paperback that listed the values she hoped she had imparted on her children. She gave it to them and also sold about 500 copies in Lawrence.

This year, Osness decided to republish the book, updating it for her grandchildren, who range in age from 15 to 25. She also printed about 1,000 copies for sale around town as a fundraiser for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital capital campaign.

Osness, a retired nurse and elementary school principal, is chair of the hospital’s Board of Trustees.

Some of her nuggets of wisdom:

¢ “Hope: Each must believe that those dreams we cherish and nurture will come to fruition. Hope is the sail that catches the wind to propel our boat of determination towards success.”

¢ “Truth: To know and depend upon truth frees us all from the worry of deceit.”

¢ “Pride: A sense of pride in oneself and one’s accomplishments is the foundation of positive self-esteem.”

¢ “Faith: To believe without proof and to trust in the power that directs us past our weaknesses.”

Osness hopes the book gets readers thinking about their legacies to their children and grandchildren this holiday season.

“We won’t be here to guide them and give them the benefit of our history,” Osness says. “So I thought, ‘What would we give them so they can have the tools and skills to handle whatever they’ll face?'”