My Family Reunions
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| My Grandmother and some the Cousins |
When I was growing up, we had a picnic every summer to celebrate my grandmother's birthday in July. My aunts and uncles and 23 cousins would gather at The Farm my grandmother lived on to play and talk and eat. The Cousins would play in the creek and catch minnows and crawdads. The Aunts and Uncles would talk. And of course, we would all eat.
As the years passed, we grew up and the picnics stopped. There seemed to be too many other things going on in our "grown up" lives to be able to come, and my grandmother had passed away.
However several years later, we began them again, still at The Farm. This time, many of the 23 Cousins had been joined by spouses and children. The next generation of Children found the creek a great place to play. They caught minnows and crawdads just as their parents had. The Aunts and Uncles smiled as they watched their grandkids and they talked. The Cousins now played horseshoes and croquet and tried to make sure the Children were okay in the creek. But mostly we talked. And of course, we would all eat.
And this year, we gathered again. Our picnic was at a park and not at The Farm, so the little ones played in the mud puddles instead of the creek. Many of the Aunts and Uncles have passed away, but were remembered in pictures and stories. The Cousins were talking about colleges and empty nests and the Children were texting their friends. But mostly we talked. And of course, we all ate.
The cousins look very similar to each other :) On my dad's side of the family there are twelve cousins and I always look forward to seeing everyone at Christmas, and meet new partners and children :)
ReplyDeleteOf course, among 23 cousins there are a lot of variations in our looks. However, in the picture there are eight from the same family and they all look alike. That may be what you are noticing.
DeleteWhat a great tradition and how good that you're carrying it on. As someone who has only one first cousin I can't imagine what having 22 more would be like!
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of crazy when we were all little. Especially when we would gather at Christmas and we were all inside. However, it was a lot of fun too.
DeleteWe used to have family reunions each summer also, but as the elders passed on the younger generation didn't want to organize it and it fell apart. There were divisions between people who didn't want to spend time with each other. Then family moved, my relatives live all over the country very few close enough to get together. Even my youngest son had to move for work, it's sad really.
ReplyDeleteSome years, it's a struggle to get people together, but luckily, we keep going. We have developed an alternating schedule in which different families are in charge. They get to pick the date and the particulars. So far, that seems to be working.
DeleteLivingSimply, even though you don't have reunions any more, I hope you get a chance to visit with the relatives you want to see.
As part of the Original 23 Cousins, I should have been there this year, but I didn't feel up to it. My dad is the oldest child left and his younger brother is the only other sibling. We are blessed with 3 remaining Daughters-in-Law, too. Unfortunately out of the 23 Cousins, none of them were boys born with the Family Name. The next generation has some boys who have been given the Family name as a middle name to help carry it forward. There were 8 Original Siblings, of which 3 died childless. Imagine how many more cousins there could have been!! I have to agree with my cousin who wrote this blog, though. I hope we can carry the fun forward through many generations!
ReplyDeleteNever really thought about how many cousins there could have been if every Aunt and Uncle had had kids. Now that would be a big crowd! Do you remember when we were little at Christmas time and trying to pass out presents? It was pretty hard for us to figure out who everyone was--especially the adults.
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