Mom's Christmas Wish

“The only thing Mom wants for Christmas is for all of her kids to be here.” That statement on the phone by my brother was how it all started. What followed was one of the most memorable Christmases of my life.

Mom was living with one of the brothers, and the other brother was living in the same town. My sister was about 8 hours away. Pam and I were 1,700 miles away. So, if we were going to help make Mom's wish come true, we'd have some traveling to do.

Flying would mean leaving our old dog, Beau with someone and we weren't really prepared to do that. It was a given that any of the family dogs were always welcome at our gatherings. Put that all together, and it added up to, you guessed it – road trip!

Pam and I both enjoy driving, and Beau traveled well, so taking the land route would be much more relaxing. While we'd be leaving the balmier west coast temperatures behind for more wintry weather in the Texas panhandle, it would feel more like Christmas. There was no snow in the forecast, but we wouldn't complain about that, either.

I won't go into a lot of detail about the trip. We always take the back roads when we can, and we managed to cover the first 1,000 miles before we stopped for some rest in Flagstaff, Arizona. Because of the cold night, we rented a pet-friendly motel room. Beau was grateful for the warm, comfortable space and it didn't hurt our feelings any, either. There were mounds of snow everywhere from the last storm, but the streets and parking lots were clear.

The rest of the trip was equally smooth and uneventful. We pulled into the oldest brother's driveway early on the evening of the 23rd. He had a guest room, so we'd be staying there and spending as much time as possible at both brothers' homes. Gifts (not mandatory) would be exchanged on Christmas Eve at the “middle” brother's house and the family dinner would be on Christmas Day at the oldest brother's house.

My brother's 2 Dachshunds were not happy about the arrival of our 100-plus-pound Chesapeake Bay Retriever, which was devastatingly traumatic for the gentle old soul. He was ready to leave the moment we arrived. The fact that the little wiener dogs growled and barked every time he moved didn't make the situation any better. He spent most of the evening hiding behind one chair or another.

To be fair, the Dachshunds weren't really to blame – their home had been invaded.

So, after a bit of catching up on how the trip went and what the plans were for the next several days, we retired to the guest room. The Dachshunds would be spending the night, as always, across the hall in the master bedroom. After reassuring Beau that we'd be ok in there for the night, the three of us were asleep pretty quickly.

At 3:00AM, a gust of warm doggy breath in my face woke me. I opened my eyes to Beau's face in front of mine, with that unmistakable, “I need to go out, NOW” expression. I slipped my jeans on we made our way to the back door as quietly as possible. I opened the door for him and he headed out, while I slipped on my boots and jacket.

I heard the slosh before I made it out the door. The back porch light didn't extend very far, so I had to wait a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.

My brother's koi ponds were his pride and joy. To our old, tired and disoriented dog, they simply smelled like water and he loved to swim. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for that and the water was only kept warm enough to keep the ice off. I did the only thing I could. I went into the pond.

Pam and I spent the next half hour drying Beau and me off as well as possible. We left a small pile of soaked towels on the enclosed patio floor to deal with later that morning. Fortunately, I'd brought my suitcase in when I arrived. I grabbed a change of underwear and a t-shirt, got Beau comfy on the floor and he, Pam, and I both did the best we could to sleep until the rest of the household woke up.

Everyone had a good laugh at the story later that morning, after we made sure the fish had survived the incident unscathed and cleaned up the mess. A hot shower and a change of clothes was all I needed and Beau seemed to be no worse for the experience, although he was moving pretty slowly. Then again, so was I.

As planned, we headed over to the middle brother's house for the Christmas Eve get-together.

After a marvelous dinner, it was time to grab a photo of the siblings and Mom, which you've, hopefully, already seen at the top of this story. You can see how happy we all were to be together. (Yeah, that's me there on the right, all untucked and casual.)

We asked Pam to take just one more, and although the siblings were having a great time, Mom was obviously enjoying it less. We still don't understand why:

Please note, we are following the lead of the senior sibling here. We had no choice.

Despite the antics, trust me when I say that this was an emotional moment for the four of “us kids.”

After the photo shoot, it was time to settle in and do what the family does when we're not eating. I may have forgotten to mention that any time a call went out for a gathering, the guitars were going to come along. This was no exception. Though the entire group wouldn't be together until the next day, we brought them out and had a long “warm-up” session in front of the fireplace. The music was good, the company was great, and we eventually headed back to brother number one's house for some sleep.

The next day was even more incredible, with a traditional Christmas dinner, the rest of the family in attendance, and an even more incredible musical experience as the whole family joined in. And of course, it all took place in front of the hearth, as a family Christmas should.

Pam and I would reluctantly leave 3 days later, to enjoy a leisurely drive back home along the northern route through the mountains. We moved to Amarillo several years later and we're still here, enjoying family time as much as our lives allow. It's never enough.

Mom is no longer with us, and perhaps that has a little bit to do with why the gatherings are infrequent. I think she'd be saddened by that.

Wherever life takes Pam and me in years to come, I know fulfilling Mom's Christmas wish that year gifted me with memories I'll cherish for the rest of my days.

On a final note, I'd be remiss if I didn't give some well-deserved credit to the younger persons in these photos. We may have handed down the guitars, but they took the playing to a different level. Not only that, but they've always been willing to follow our lead and join us in all of the old songs. They are, in my humble opinion, among the finest of their generation.

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Author's Note: Here are some other tales of family: