Quartet of magical words can bridge rifts

It started with a phone call. And if I let it, it will end with a phone call.

But there has to be a happier ending than that.

I grew up an “alien” in a world of women – five sisters plus my mom. My dad and I were “outmanned” from the start, but if any family member were ever in trouble, we were in it together to the end.

With parents dying, family dynamics change, and mine has been no exception. My sisters and I are scattered across the lower 48.

Squabbles have arisen and years have passed by without any communication between some of us. That’s pretty embarrassing to write, but I fear more families this Christmas season are like mine than like those in a Norman Rockwell painting.

I was a bit surprised when my younger sister called to ask a favor of me, to stop by another sister’s house this past Thanksgiving. Like any male, I was looking forward to a day of football and a tryptophan-induced nap, even if it meant I had to make the turkey.

After our dinner, I went to my sister’s house. There were a few clues that maybe it’s been too long since I was there.

First was I couldn’t find the place. Or the road it was on. Their location hasn’t changed for decades.

The second clue was the smelling salts we had to give my sister when I showed up.

Did you ever feel like years are fleeting? When I remarked how the kids were growing, I found out those were the grandkids.

Those kids I remember are now adults – adults that sat and laughed as we reminisced about family traditions in our house.

We talked about the “King’s X,” the magic mark you left on your chair to reserve it for your return, and my dad’s phrase, “cruisin’ for a bruisin,’ ” which was the penultimate parental warning to stop everything we were doing except breathing.

We laughed and we laughed, something we hadn’t done much of together in years.

And then we passed on one of my family’s great secrets – my mother’s parental secret weapon. Just the thought of it still makes me shudder.

If you stayed home from school, my mother gave you an enema. If you coughed, she gave you an enema.

My mother was so talented with her tools that if she were sent to the frozen tundra of Alaska with a rubber bladder of warm water, I’m sure she could strike oil easily.

By the time we told those stories, we were all rolling on the floor, interrupted by a call from another sister. This sister, calling the sister I was visiting, hasn’t talked to me in years and years.

Cards go unanswered. I don’t even know what she’s mad about.

Giddy with the good time we were having, I saw my chance to fix this situation, too. I grabbed the phone to wish my sister a Happy Thanksgiving.

I was going to thaw “frozen tundra” and turn my sister and me into a gusher of words. But hearing my voice, she hung up.

I’ve been thinking about that missed opportunity, and I’m not going to let it end there. I’ve decided my sister must be tongue-tied, and all I need to do is send her a script – a script with four magic little words. “I miss you, too.” Four magic words.

Got a family member not talking? A good friend you’ve had a falling out with over something petty? Miss that ex-significant other?

Take a risk and send four magic words in one of those Christmas cards, like one that has a cow, decked in lights, titled “Have a Mooey Christmas.”

Still speechless? Send someone – like I will my sister – this article.

Something special happens over the Christmas season. Peace on Earth and good will to men aren’t just lofty thoughts but rather a heaven-sent reality.

People can reconnect. Dickens’ “Christmas Carol” is a beloved classic because Scrooge saw the light.

Try coming to the same realization he did and light up your life with unconditional love.

Especially during the Christmas season, blessed are the risk takers, for they shall receive four magic little words.