The Very Best Gift (3 page)

To:
Casey

From:
Jesus

And that was Casey’s best gift, which she played with until she wore him out by age eight, and which she distinctly remembered at age fourteen and which none of us can ever forget.

Taylor and Haley were impressed. That was going to be hard to beat. We gave them a few minutes, while Casey sat there very pleased with herself and her best gift. The competition was not over yet. Taylor, whose turn came next,
got a look of steely determination on his face as he searched his memories for a gift that could rival
Casey’s
. Then a smile spread across his face.

TAYLOR’S BEST GIFT: THE BUDDY STORY

4
Buddy
: Our Family's 1st Dog

Taylor’s choice for the best gift he ever received was “Buddy.” That one word said that the game was still on. That was a very good choice and
it’s
a good story. Let me tell it to you.

5
Taylor as He Looked in 4th Grade

When Taylor was in fourth grade, his dad decided it was time for our family to get a “real pet” which – to him – meant a dog. Our family had cats as pets for years but Patrick (Daddy)
didn’t
consider having a cat a “real pet.” Rather, he saw having cats as his way to prove that he loved those of us in the family who preferred cats.

Getting our family’s first dog was a big deal. We held many family meetings to pick the right kind of dog. We read books about different breeds. We all picked names and held them up for a vote. Finally, we came up with the right name. We all agreed on “Buddy.”

At the
time
I was traveling quite a bit to speak to groups and work on my books. One weekend while I was away, Patrick (Daddy) took the kids to look at puppies. All of the books we looked at said that a Collie was not a good dog to have as a house pet, and our dog would be an inside dog.
But
the kids fell in love with this little Collie puppy and talked Daddy into buying him that day.
So
, I came home to find three ecstatic children and one rambunctious Collie puppy named Buddy.

Buddy
made our home very fun, and everyone – even me – learned to live with his bouncy nature. Then the puppy started to grow, and grow, and grow some more, until he was a full-grown dog.
And
he was still very bouncy! We could live with that until… Grandma Perry came to visit.

6
Grandma Perry Looking a Bit Wobbly

The kids sometimes called Grandma Perry “Grandma Goodie” because she would spoil them with too many treats. Grandma came to stay with the kids when Patrick and I had to travel on some weekends when I was speaking far away from home. Now, Grandma was a little frail. She sometimes had trouble walking because her legs were weak. She could get around okay if she was careful, but she certainly could NOT stand up to
being jumped on
by an excited full-grown Collie dog! We
didn’t
think this would be a problem because we could put Buddy outside sometimes, so Grandma came to stay for a while.

On November 18,
1997
I had to fly to a business meeting. It was only an hour flight and I would come back home that same evening. Patrick had to go to work and planned to drop me at the airport on his way to work. Grandma was going to watch the kids.
So
, we put Buddy out of the house and off we went.

When Patrick and I got home that night, everything was surprisingly quiet. With Buddy around it usually
wasn’t
calm or quiet.
So
, Patrick searched around to find Buddy and found something terrible instead. While we had been
away
Buddy had an accident and died.
Patrick was more upset than I had ever seen him. I went back into the family room, crying. Then I broke the sad, sad news and we all began to cry.

Here is a picture of Buddy, holding his leash in his mouth. He was a very good dog and we loved him.

7
Saying Goodbye to Buddy was Very Sad

I will spare you the upsetting details, but you can imagine how terrible we all felt. Everyone felt sad at our loss and sad for Buddy, who was such a good dog. We all felt a little guilty too; like we should have protected Buddy better.
But
none of that could bring Buddy back.

We were all devastated, but the loss seemed to hit Taylor particularly hard. He had always been a happy-go-lucky kid, but after Buddy
died
he became seriously depressed. After a few weeks, his teacher, Mrs. Tricomo, was so concerned that she called me. She suggested that we either get Taylor another dog or a take him to a therapist. She was very worried about him. Taylor’s joy was completely gone even though it
was now Christmastime. Something had to
be done
, but what?

Patrick and I prayed for wisdom and for God’s help, but we
didn’t
know what to do.
It’s
not like you can just replace one dog with another.

Around this same time, President Clinton got a new dog. The White House was having a contest to choose a name for the “First Dog.” It was hard to watch all the media fanfare about the President’s new dog. We
didn’t
care what he named him. We just hoped he
didn’t
name him Buddy because that would remind us of our “Buddy”. So, what name do you think they chose?

8
President Clinton with "First Dog" Buddy
www.clintonlibrary.gov

Yep! You guessed it; President Clinton’s family named their dog Buddy. I remember hearing the news on TV. I was coming downstairs and Taylor ran up the stairs to me when he heard the announcement. We both started crying and sat down right there on the stairs, hugging each other for comfort. It seemed too much to bear; why should he have his Buddy, but we
didn’t
have ours?

My husband, Patrick, took me aside and said,

“You’re supposed to be helping him. I
don’t
think this is the way to help. What is wrong? Is there something deeper going on with you?”

I was taking this very hard, myself. His questions caused me to stop and consider why I was so devastated by the loss of Buddy and why I
couldn’t
seem to get over it either. As I thought and thought about it, the reason came to me. It was a reason that touched on such a deep hurt that I had buried it away and almost forgotten it.