This picture is a gift for my Mom 24 years in the making. Let me tell you a story.

When I was 5 years old, it was the first Halloween where I got to choose what I wanted to be. My mom asked me what I wanted to choose.

I told her I wanted to be a bearsnake.

She told me bearsnakes didn’t exist, to which I replied, “Well, it should. Let’s make one then.”

She spent days mapping out, sketching, and ultimating sewing the costume. And even with my silly small tweaks (such as when she gave it the body of a snake I told her it was imperative the bear was the body), she persisted.

It gave me my first ever Halloween costume: something I had brought to life from a vision I had. She spent days of time and effort bringing this thing to life. This tireless creative work is a trait I learned from her.

From there on, the Bearsnake became a thing between me and her. Kind of a symbol of my creativity and personality for me, and the hard work she always put in.

I didn’t know how I could ever repay her for this.

Flash forward 25 years.

There’s this Magic set I’m working on called Mystery Booster. It has these 121 playtest cards - cards that look like they’re handdrawn cards, with wild abilities and names - and I’m leading the design of them.

It’s a project that I poured many, many days of effort into. It took a ton of effort to get this thing made. It was a product I had a vision for, and worked to bring to life from start to finish.

My childhood imagination. My mother’s work. In Magic card form.

And I put a little something in there that was personal. Something special. I created Magic’s first, and only, Bear Snake. And to really make it more incredible… I got to draw the ridiculous sketch artwork too.

Truly an amalgamation of my life so far.

The set debuted back in November, but I didn’t tell her about this piece at all. And for Christmas, I got her a display piece with the whole saga.

The card I designed and drew.

The original sketches and artwork for the card.

And, of course, a picture of me in the foundational bearsnake costume that started it all.

I love you, mom. Thanks for everything over the years and helping make me who I am today. Merry Christmas. ❤