Reunioning

It is a joy to be together with family.  I come from a very large family, together with my parents, my siblings and their children there are over 100 of us, and logistically it is like parting waters to make an event and photo like this happen.  It only happens every other year but it is worth it.

I honestly cannot say we all found joy in the planning of such event though.  My mom continually  responded peaceably, and with the same sense of regret most moms get when their children are not getting along she'd say, "it is really hard to please so many people".  But somewhere along the escalating emails and phone calls leading up to the event someone simply stated:  "Come what may and love it."  So that became the reunion theme.

The night before the official reunion started my mom and dad found themselves with a house full of 50 members of their family who after traveling so far just couldn't wait to visit with them.  So my mom did her magic and in less than 30 minutes had a meal for all them!  From then on it was non-stop activities, feeding and visiting.

In the middle of it my brother Jeff asked, "so Al, are you having fun?".   My response was, "define fun."  I know it was "fun" for my children but honestly with so much action and activity I craved more intimate conversation with those who I have not seen in a couple of years.

We joked about setting up an activity like speed dating where everyone has a set time to catch up with one individual then when the buzzer sounds you move to the next person.  Jeff then said, "well, are you enjoying yourself?", of course the answer was "yes" and I then shared with him one of my favorite moment of the reunion, it is actually pictured below.  It is of my two daughters dancing with his two daughters in Oma and Opa's driveway. These girls who just days previous were as good as strangers to each others found instant connection, Maryanna and Elise, and Clara and Melissa.  While the adults were fumbling with the logistics of where to go, and when and what to wear or bring, these girls embraced each other and sang and danced as if they were a couple of lost souls who have once again found each other, it was like a soul reunion.  That was a joyful moment, enough to make the long trip worth it. 

And then there were the parties.  First at Airborne Sports where both the kids and adults jumped and bounced till we were red in the face and sore in the legs.

There were also a couple of pool parties with yummy catered food and enough children splashing in the pools to required all parents to be on guard in addition to hired life guards.    

There was also a party at the park with music, dancing, arts and crafts, games, ice blocking and giant sub sandwiches.

My brother Doug surprised everyone and arranged for a snow cone truck to show up.  There was a long line....................

and many happy children.

The family photo was taken the next day downtown next to temple square.

After James got to take off with his cousins to explore the new City Creek Center.

While the younger ones trailed around Temple Square with us parents.

Later in the afternoon my parents hosted a fancy reception for everyone at the Lion House, in the very same room I attended a reception for my grandparents when I was a child.  Lion house rolls are famous, so fluffy and delicious, and whipped honey butter makes it almost a dessert, I had three all nicely smothered.
 

By this time George had had his fill of reunioning, he independently removed his socks and shoes and found an empty space of carpet by our table and went right to sleep.  I just let him be, and with the others off in the company of their cousins I enjoyed sitting at an almost empty table with just Paul eating our rolls with plenty of whipped honey butter.

And then there was the down time, we did find bits of it.  My mom was concerned that not everyone got reunion t-shirts so she set up a silk screen station in her basement.

Down there in the basement my mom told me about her college days running for student body secretary of University of Utah.  She built a silk screen to create posters for her campaign, she said it made real crisp posters, she got her name out there and she won.

Meanwhile the kids spent most their down time passing around a handful of ipads and iphones.  They were good at taking turns and it is amazing how many eyes can hover over such a small screen.  I suppose sharing small screens makes for close cousins.

Probably my favorite activity of the reunion was bonding with my teen aged nieces.  My mom asked me to arrange and facilitate a craft for this older crowd to enjoy.  So I went to a local bead shop and got supplies for them all to make leather wrap bracelets.  With their hands kept busy the digital devices were set down and what we enjoyed was a women's circle a kin to what our shared women ancestors may have enjoyed while cooking, quilting, sewing or weaving.

I shared with them some of the wonderful, horrible, embarrassing and magical moments of my teen aged years and they shared with me their visions, goals and aspirations for the future. There was a connection and I left with the realization that we share the same blood and the significance of that.  Oh how I love these young women even more now!
  

As I do everyone who I was able to see and reconnect with.  I am so grateful to my parents for having a large family and the efforts they still make in encouraging us, despite the number of individuals and distances between us, to remain a close and connected family.

We came and we loved it!