Family Reunion

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.

-- George Moore

We had a marvelous, I say, a simply marvelous, day for our family reunion on Saturday. Bright, sunny, blue skies with little puffy white sheep clouds bobbing along the horizon. Seagulls overhead, waves crashing below us and kids laughing all around us made for a simply marvelous day.

Do you think we had a good time?

Yup.
My mom's family has a reunion every year. My middle sissy started it about ten years ago and we've kept it going every year. We all take turns hosting it, sometimes at someone's home and sometimes at a location near their home.

This year was my cousin S. and his wife L.'s turn to host. So we jumped in the car and headed to Gloucester.

Er. I mean Glawstah, for all you Bostonians. I forget you don't have the letter r in your alphabet.

This year there were 23 of us. Some couldn't make it because of other commitments, like college and barbershop quartet shows. But the 23 of us that were there had some fun.

We brought grills, and salads, and appetizers, and drinks, and desserts, and games, and lots of happy-ness at the thought of being outside on such a marvelous fall day.

Just a little crisp ZING to the air, sweatshirts were definitely welcome as the sun started to go down.

The seagulls got very friendly when they realized we were full of food at our picnic tables. My aunt J. remembered a story about my mom -

Your mom and I took C. (sissy) to Rockport and had a snack on the beach. Your mom decided to feed the seagulls. And she was having a good time until they started to fly in from everywhere! She looked at me and said, "Gee, maybe I shouldn't have fed them." Then we ran away."

I love hearing stories about my mom.

That's what reunions are for.

Telling family stories.

Remembering those who have gone on before us.
Lots of wish making going on.

I blew on one too. I hope my wish comes true.

Thanks, sissy, for starting this reunion stuff. It's a good thing.

We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break. ~Marquise de Sévigné