REUNION

                                                           

I think when my parents started our 1st family reunion, some thirty-nine years ago; they knew that it would accomplish many good things. That at least for one weekend a year, their kids, grandkids and great grandkids would gather to renew old acquaintances’, reminisce and enjoy each other’s company once more. They knew they won’t be around forever but they hoped that this family would be here forever, for each other. They knew over time the family would grow and change with new faces and sadly some would leave the family. They also knew it was important that we never forgot where we came from, no matter how much time has passed. They also knew that somewhere in our D.N.A lies a common bond.

For the original siblings the gathering has become bitter sweet. We lost our parents, our little brother a couple of years ago, my beautiful wife and cousin Jim too and time has taken a toll on our bodies and minds. This becomes more obvious to each of us every year. We have learned that time shows no mercy and sometimes an hour can be like a day. But yet that hour is there and you have to live it, in the best way you know how. I think most of us feel that same time, ticking and pressing down on us and know that our turn will come someday and maybe sooner then later. But sometimes-good things fall apart to make room for better things to happen. New spouses and new partners, have been brought into the family and from those unions have come beautiful replacements to carry on in the coming generations for those who have fallen by the wayside. It’s our hope that all of this renewal overshadows the sad changing of the guard and keeps things up beat and growing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Every man is a quotation from his ancestors.” Another quote I have always liked is. “Like the branches of a tree, our lives may grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one.” From the time of that first reunion, until today, our world has evolved from what we knew then, to what it is today. As with all changes, some of it can be a hard pill to swallow but I’m sure that was as true back then, as it is now. I remember at one of the first reunions coming dressed in some bell-bottom trousers that were in style back then and my dad shook his head and said. “What in the hell is the matter with you? I never dreamed I would raise a hippy. Go change your pants before anyone else sees you.”

For many years our reunions went from campground to campground. We went on the cheap and had storms and bugs and campgrounds that said they were booked up when we tried to come back. Funny how they can be filled up for the next year, the day after our reunion ends but oh well, we did have a good time. Back then a night sleeping on a tree root and a rock, in a leaky tent with three bawling kids got old in a hurry and evolved into fifth wheel campers and motor homes. We have now graduated to our brother’s hobby farm where he might want to kick us out but can’t and now it’s up to the younger generation to keep it going for the next one.