The Christmas Gift

"I wanted to surprise you - I was thinking about calling Chase and flying him out for Christmas".

Did I hear that right? Was my wishful mind playing tricks on me?

"I have been thinking about this for a long time", Gene continued.

I had recognized a definite softening toward Chase. "What are you getting Chase for Christmas? Be sure to put both of our names on it". But I had always thought, and in fact had been told, that Chase was going to have to make the effort. Now Gene was willing to forgive and make the first step towards reconciling our family.

I left for the office while Gene made the phone call, telling Chase he loved him, wanted him to come home for Christmas, promised no one would bother him, and that we needed to put everything behind us and start fresh and be a family again.

Gene called me, "Book the ticket"!


As we discussed the timeframe, etc, Gene added, "We will have to get him some jammies". (We always give the kids a new pair of jammies to open on Christmas eve.)


We decided that we would not tell anyone, and let them each be surprised when they saw Chase.

As I anticipated the visit my mind wondered, What will Sharna do? How will Kylie respond? I reminded myself to let them each forge their own relationships and simply enjoy spending time with all of my children.

I called Chase the next day to give him his flight information. He had just come back from purchasing some clothes, shoes, a belt, a razor and getting a haircut. "I only have work clothes", he explained. He seemed excited and a little nervous.


Gene and I were both excited, talking about having our family together, taking pictures, etc. We regretted that Arlene would not be able to see him during this visit, but vowed that there will be many more. Gene commented that he had discussed with Sharna the idea of doing this for my 50th birthday, but realized that things can happen in 3 years time, and that the time to reconcile was now.

We waited anxiously at the airport for his plane to arrive. Naturally it was late. We had told Kylie we would meet her for lunch and we had to call and keep stalling. Finally his plane was on the ground and we saw him walking down the corridor and through the revolving door. I reminded myself to be considerate and not "hog" too much of him, trying to keep from rushing to him, so that Gene could have a moment with him. I did not need to remind myself, Gene moved quickly to embrace him. They both hugged, tears in their eyes, pulled apart and hugged again.

We walked into the restaurant where we were meeting Kylie, and waited for her mind to catch up and recognize her beloved brother. They hugged and we enjoyed a nice lunch together. We told her that we were not telling anyone he was here and letting them each be surprised as they saw him. Our reasoning here was that it would be memorable for each person, and a bit less overwhelming for Chase if the reunions were staggered in this way. Also, we did not want others to know before his sisters knew.

Sharna arrived about 9:30pm Christmas Eve night. As she walked in the door and met her brother in the dining room her lips moved into a frozen "oh" of surprise and they embraced. We visited for a while and then Gene and I went to bed. I heard the kids up talking and visiting until late in the night.

Christmas morning was wonderful. Just before everyone arrived for Christmas dinner, Kylie and Chase left to pick up her boyfriend Jason. Of course everyone arrived while they were gone. When she came back, she commented "we brought a friend of Jason's with us". My mom looked up and then ran and hugged her grandson. My sister sat perplexed, wondering why her mother was hugging Jason's friend, and then recognized Chase as well.

The next day we went to lunch at the Cox'. Tammy was totally surprised and when she called Tom, he immediately brought his family over for a visit.

Over the weekend, we enjoyed visits with friends and family and then loaded Chase on the plane on Sunday night. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Before we picked Chase up from the airport my friend, Barb, gave me a Christmas card. In it she placed this poem she has written the night before.

The Christmas Gift

(written for the Kepplers)

The Man and the Son

Gave the Woman a gift

A Christmas give

By first giving to each other

...a gift of Love

...of Forgiveness

...of Healing

...of Wholeness

The Man and the Son

Gave the Woman a gift

A Christmas gift

As long ago, God gave a Gift

The First Christmas Gift

A Gift of His Son

...a gift of Love

...of Forgiveness

...of Healing

...of Wholeness

Yes, the Man and the Son

Gave the Woman a gift

A Gift of Love

A Family Together

A Christmas Gift

2008 Barbara J. Warner

Sidebar - I am struggling here, because blogger lets me put in the extra line between the poem stanzas and then the lines are not there when I publish the post and I feel I am doing injustice to such a meaningful poem by not keeping it exactly as it was written (and should be).

Neighborhood Walk

It has been two months since Gene broke his hip during the Portland Marathon. Recovery has been painful at times and Gene has been bored and restless at others - but he is making progress. A couple weeks ago he began walking with a cane rather than the crutches and this week he began to do some limited walking without the cane.

Yesterday we went to our storage unit and organized the mess that was there and brought our Christmas tree home. Then we had lunch and watched the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cowboys - YAY! After that, we took a short walk in the neighborhood. It was so nice to be out walking with Gene again. I think it helped him mentally, as much as physically - knowing that he is on his way back.

A Therapuetic Whine

I don't know if it is something specific, or just all the little things, but I have been feeling a bit down.

None of our kids will be home for Thanksgiving.

My beautiful butterfly koi was killed by a great blue heron yesterday. (Seems like every year at Thanksgiving one of God's creatures decides to help himself to a feast of my koi).

My knee is still bothering me a bit.

The weather is dreary.

The economy sucks and seems to be getting worse every day.

I do not have as much work lined up as I would like.

I had received an "Intent to Award" for a large job; attended a subcontactor meeting and sent submittals and was then notified that they "misread" my bid and signed with the another contractor - before even discussing it with me.

I have not decided on a plan for obtaining more work, and several families depend on us.

I have been incredibly disorganized at work (there are many piles distracting me).

Our business liability insurance carrier has decided they no longer want to write policies for roofing contractors, and I have been waiting for several weeks for my agent to obtain new quotes. My current policy expires in a little over two weeks.

Did I mention the economy sucks?

Okay - enough whining, time to get to work. At least tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I will be taking a 4 day hiatus from work and from the depressing news about all the problems out there.

Goddess of Speed

It never rains but it pours.

Gene is laid up with a broken hip and he is quite restless. We got the Packard home a few weeks ago, but he is not able to do anything on it, as he is still on crutches. Last night he decided to get out his prized "Goddess of Speed" hood ornament and view it on the hood. Guess what we cannot find? Yes, that is correct, we have lost the Goddess.

Very much a bummer.

Trivia

Today on the radio they had a trivia question....What are the only two words in the English language that have three double letters in a row?

I knew one of the words was bookkeeper, but could not think of the other word. Beekeeper? No. I kept trying to imagine what the other word could be. Imagine my surprise when I learned what the other word was - BOOKKEEPING!!!!

That's what I get for overthinking it.

Boredom and Pain

Weekend before last we went wine tasting in the Upper Rogue because they were supposedly holding events at four locations. We were misinformed. Then we decided to go to the casino. This did not work out as the aisle are too narrow and there were too many people around for Gene to feel comfortable.

Last Saturday he went to a Duck game at Autzen Stadium. While he enjoyed it, the long ride, sitting on bench seats and the long ride back took their toll and he paid the piper on Sunday.

So we are still looking for ways to fill our weekends. Gene has a low tolerance for boredom and likes to be productive every day, so there we are.....

Weekend on Crutches

Everyone who knows Gene knows how much he likes to be busy, especially working, cleaning, building, and being productive in general. Sitting around vegging and reading is just not his style. So how can he stay busy while walking on crutches for the next 7 weeks? The dilemma.

Fortunately, it is football season, which helps to pass the time on Sundays. This Saturday we are going to go look at motor homes at the expo and go to "Wine, Dine and Step Back in Time" which is taking place at Agate Vineyards, Butte Creek Mill, Crater Lake Cellars and Del Rio.

I have made a list of other possibilities, but would encourage anyone reading this to send me ideas:
Gun Range; check Tempo; go to Movies; pick up video; visit friends; wine tasing; fishing; visit an art gallery; gambling; visit health club and inquire about facilities and trainers; visit Rogue Valley Running - 161 E. Main St (between First and Pioneer); make a new recipe; install Rosetta Stone on computer and learn Spanish; visit Barnes & Noble and Starbucks; browse Goodwill; attend an auction and/or garage sales; go geocaching; and my least favorite idea of all (but this is not about me)- go to Harbor Freight Tools.