I'll Be Home For Christmas

 

Santa and Mrs. Claus home together for Christmas

I'll be home for Christmas - if only in my dreams. So laments Spokane, Washington native, Bing Crosby, crooning in a Christmas classic. Christmas 2023, the wife and I were each home for Christmas; me in Washington, she in Texas. It didn't seem right.

Christmas 2024, I decided we would do better this year. I'd scratch the title, "I'll be be home for Christmas," and purposed to make it "We'll be home for Christmas." The question was; Your place or mine? 

In truth, I wanted her up to "my" place (actually it is ours) and so I drew upon the holiday magic of dreamy wish-lists, winter wonderland surprises and lyrical images of 'later on we'll conspire, as we sit by the fire, facing unafraid, the plans we've made, walking in a winter wonderland'. I promised her an international holiday adventure if she'd fly to my side to be with me north of Seattle. Her Christmas gift would be a short hop over to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada for a 3 day, 2 night merry holiday jaunt in a charming city [incidentally, we honeymooned in Victoria in 1986].  

We conspired over the phone, plans were made and plane tickets were secured for her arrival on December 19th. This put me in a fine and merry holiday spirit. I caved to the 'Black Friday 25% Off' merchandising of a local big box store the Monday after Thanksgiving and bought a 6' Noble Fir, a dazzling Christmas Star tree-topper and some replacement lights to wrap around the tree. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here I thought to myself.

I stood the scented tree in the middle of my living room bay windows, designed specifically as the place to hold our Christmas trees. I added a few gifts for Sue under the boughs. Sue, always concerned about procuring the the 'best possible and most perfect gifts', said to me with apologies dripping from her words, "I don't have anything to give you for Christmas this time - is that alright?"

I smiled, "Ah, but you do. Do you not remember what I told you I wanted for Christmas this year?"

With a shy little lilt to her voice, she replied, "Me?"

"Yes. I'd hoped you'd remember that you are all I want for Christmas this year. So... Pack your bags, catch a ride to Love Field and fly up here to the Pacific Northwest for some merrymaking under gray skies and my tall fir and cedar trees. You hear me my sugarplum?"

Alaska Airlines was efficient and on time with the beginning of the holiday travel crush and delivered my girl on time to her Sea-Tac gate-to-adventure, where I was waiting in my Santa cap. 

We had several days at our home together before Christmas truly arrive. We took hikes and beach walks, made dinner and pies together, traveled to see family in Tumwater and finally she got to open her presents waiting for her under the tree.

You get to open one gift on Christmas Eve

Our daughter, Inga, rode Amtrak up to our place on the 26th and the next day we three were off to Canada for our family holiday.