On most mornings I would be thrilled to wake up after 8 AM. That kind of thing usually doesn’t happen once you become a parent, so its to be savored. Sleeping in this morning meant that I missed saying goodbye to my relatives, some of which hit the road before I was fully awake. I had also hoped to get in a group picture this morning but that didn’t happen, either. No group, no group picture.
Still, I wasn’t ready for the reunion to be over. In reunions past, there wasn’t as many family members to talk to as there was this one. Forty-four! I was just getting names paired with the faces of my cousins’ kids. We had our own kids to keep up with, as well as some reunion duties to accomplish. Just when I was in the swing of things – boom – its over. Two more years will pass by before we see each other again, at which time I’ll have to do the whole name-faces thing again as the faces will have changed.
To catch you up, after my last post we woke the kids and prepared to hit the pool. I found out then that our dinner would be ready thirty minutes later. We had promised the kids some pool time, so we made it a short swim. Then, racing to get ready we made it to dinner just in time.
The food was good and the conversation was good, too. Right about the time I finished a helping of fried chicken I was pressed into service setting up chairs for my dad’s video presentation. The whole crowd soon sat in those chairs for a hour’s walk down memory lane, courtesy of Dad’s Final Cut-Fu and a collection of movies and pictures.
It was sad that Grandma, Granddaddy, Uncle Don, and Uncle Jimmy were present only on the TV screen. Grandma’s house, the site of so many reunions past, flickered in front of us, forever captured by Dad’s camera just as she left it. I couldn’t help getting choked up seeing it. Dad sent us all home with our own copies – a wonderful gift.
After the movie, we hit the cake and ice cream. My brother Allen and I broke out our guitars for a sloppy rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of Uncle Bill turning 70. With that, the official reunion part was over.
Hallie and Travis made a few friends with their cousins and played full tilt all night. It was great to see them joyfully mixing it up, having met their counterparts only hours eariler. While T left the party on the early side, Hallie begged to spend the night with her new friends, though the next day’s travel precluded that.
After the kids were settled, I walked over to Aunt Nancy’s cabin to show off the pictures I took. The slideshow proved very popular! I enjoyed the casual, catching up time where just the adults were present.
We got home after 8 and a half hours and 515 miles of driving. After enjoying a Chinese dinner, we relaxed a bit until Travis suddenly threw up. I cleaned things up while Kelly got our sick guy ready for bed. Shortly afterward, Kelly threw up, too! Fortunately, Hallie and I are holding out for the moment. I hope our brown-eyed family members feel better soon, and Hallie and I will be working to make that happen.
It is good to be done with the driving, though I do miss my cousins, aunts, and uncles already. I’m already looking forward to our next get-together (though hopefully this time without the sickness at the end).