Family Reunions

I just got back from my dad’s family reunion a couple of weeks ago.  My sis and I took the train from Los Angeles to Sacramento (about 12 hours), met my parents and then the 4 of us traveled by train for 3 days & nights to Nebraska. It was a blast!

My dad grew up with 13 brothers and sisters, and most of them stayed in the Nebraska area, where they were born and raised on a farm.  I loved seeing his brothers and sisters, and their kids and grandkids at the reunion.  It was a relatively small one this year, as some have passed on, but to me the air was thick with “heritage” and “stick-togetherness”, even though many of them only saw each other once a year.  One sister brought photos, newspaper clippings, letters and the like from as far back as the early 1900’s.  That’s over a hundred years ago!  To think of all those people in my family line, the kind of lives they lived, and how different their circumstances were, is astounding.  My dad drove us to the area where he was born and grew up, recounting fascinating stories of life on the farm, life in the one-room schoolhouse, and life in their little 2-bedroom home, where their mom & dad had one bedroom, and the kids shared the other one. 

As Dave and I were raising our daughters, we tried to make a lot of room for celebrations.  And you know what?  That’s what the girls remember and talk about today (especially our annual family vacations).  All those celebrations have been part of the glue that continues to hold our girls together in adult friendships with each other, and with us.  Now, our family has mini-reunions throughout the year—celebrating holidays, birthdays, new job, new car, new apartment, and whatever else we can find to celebrate.  Reunions--a time to unite again!