Home For the Holidays It's been three years since my older sister and her family moved across the country. Her husband was offered a new job, and it was lucrative enough that they couldn't afford to turn it down. The offer came at the worst possible time however, they moved only days before Christmas. My parents were devastated. The holidays had always been the season of family, we would even stay the night at their house so that we could spend Christmas morning together. Now one of their children, and their only grandchildren were yanked away. We celebrated early that year, but somehow the spirit just wasn't in the occasion. Every year since my parents have seemed forlorn during the holidays. They had been extremely close with their grandchildren, and the distance was taking a toll. The season only amplified the hole in the family. I found out early this year that my sister and her husband had accumulated enough time off to take a vacation during the holidays, but due to recent bills they would not be able to make the trip home. I knew that nothing would make my family happier than to be reunited. I scoured the internet for deals, and even though it took most of my savings I was able to afford the four round-trip tickets to bring them home. Then my sister and I started to plan our Christmas surprise. Their plane arrived late on Christmas Eve. I had left a customary party early claiming that I had another function to attend, and drove the almost two hours to the airport. By the time we arrived home my parents were long asleep. We crept into the house as silently as possible, which is no small feat with two young and excited children. Probably the only saving grace was that they still tended to fall asleep in the car, so we only had to shush sleepy mumbles rather than full jubilation. They were quickly tucked in, but we had cleared only the first major hurdle of the surprise. I quickly moved a very large, wrapped box into the living room. I then finalized the plan with my sister. We both knew that sneaking in the kids was hard, but keeping them quiet on Christmas morning would be nearly impossible. I just hoped that everything went as scheduled as I fell asleep. My parents are early risers by nature, luckily we had the time difference on our side. The children were awake and eager for the holiday at five o'clock. The sun had yet to peek over the horizon. We shushed the kids and ushered them into the living room. They were having difficulty containing their giggles as we lifted them into the box. One more command to be quiet and we knew it was time to implement the final stage of the plan. My sister went to the bedroom at the farthest end of the house and placed a call on her cell phone. I heard the ringing echo through the house, then silence. My sister gave me a thumbs up as my parents picked up the phone in their bedroom. I feigned a grumpy face and still wearing pajamas and slippers padded into the kitchen. I mumbled nonsense under my breath as I drew the water to start a pot of coffee. I had barely pushed the button on the brewer as my parents shuffled in. "Who called at this hour?" I asked. "Your sister, but she said she was having a hard time hearing us and said she would call right back," replied my mother. "Just like her to forget the time difference," I grumbled. My mom shrugged as my dad saw the coffee and poured himself a mug. I poured my own mug as soon as he was done. "Did she say how long?" I asked after a couple minutes. "She said she would call right back so the kids could wish us a Merry Christmas." "We should head into the living room then," I suggested. "You know the speakerphone in the base is the best one. I bet they would love hearing from all of us." My mom was silent for a minute, and then nodded. "You're right." We made our way to the living room, and my parents saw the oversized box for the first time. "I thought we said nothing extravagant this year," my mom chided. I merely shrugged as she shook her head. Almost on cue, the phone rang again. My mother pressed the button and we could all hear my sister's voice fill the living room. "Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!" "Merry Christmas!" came the reply, in unison, from my parents. "I know you said that you wanted to keep things small this year," she said over the line, "but your children had an idea for something perfect and we worked together to make it happen." "You know you shouldn't have," my mom said. "I know, but we think you'll appreciate it. Go ahead and open it. I'll put the kids on afterwards." My parents shrugged and walked over to the large box, and after realizing that it was too heavy to move pulled the paper off where it stood. My dad was the first to pull back one of the flaps, and had to take a step back as my nephew popped up through the opening. "Merry Christmas!" came the excited voice of a seven year old. My four year old niece stood almost immediately after. "Merry Christmas!" Even in the dim, pre-dawn light I could see the tears of joy forming in my parent's eyes as they lifted the kids from the box. Seconds later my sister and her husband walked into the living room themselves. For one year, at least, our family was whole for the holidays again. ----------------------------------------------------------- Word Count: 987 Inspiration: Real life. My brother and his family are preparing to move on Dec. 21 and I can see how hard it is on my parents.