Family Reunions Are Hard In The Summer - Good Fun

We used to have a family reunion for my mothers extended family every summer until the family got so large we would just sit with our siblings and cousins and the old folks would visit. We then slacked off as my mothers family lived in many states and didn't do much except a Thanksgiving dinner every year with my cousins.


A few years after we moved here about 22 years ago, even those died out as the family got large and people started having those with their own children who now had children. We then just did them
with my siblings.

Every few years my mothers sister would have a cabin party over New Years to try and keep the group together but the cabin flooded and got termites or something so that ended.

I planned a family reunion for both sides of my family a few times with games and food. My mothers side everyone showed up and it was a great turn out. We did them both the same day so we only had to decorate once but my fathers side has always been a bit rough on the getting together thing. They prefer to jeep and move lots so our time together was always outside going to see things.

My aunt on my fathers side once commented how wonderful it was that all my siblings would support the family and go to all the functions that were hosted as they couldn't get their kids to do anything. Here is a post about that reunion. 

I know that was my mothers influence in our lives. She always taught us to think of what others would feel. She would always seek others out and see how they were or try to help them. Her family was very different in many ways from my fathers family. My mothers family was rich in land and heritage and very frugal yet creative and crafty. 

My fathers family were hard workers but enjoyed the finer thing and played hard as well. My grandmother had a young baby and then had triplets as my dad is a triplet and then had a few more so I think she was super organized and on top of things because she had to be. My mothers parents were more of the "free range" type parents who left their children for long amounts of times with neighbors and friends while they worked and did service. 

It is true that they are all hard workers and super organized and loved God and Country but just had different lives. My dads home was the exact idea of a 50's home with the light carpet, expensive furniture, nice newer cars, was well kept and always clean and organize with the mother staying home for the famiy. In her later years, my grandmother went blind and could tell you where anything in her home was and it was always spotless. 

My mothers parents had a summer home and a winter home and one was similar to my fathers parents home but their summer home had many cars lined up around the yard, and old horse trailers, for a long time they even had a surf board hanging around even though we were a thousand miles from a beach. As a lawyer, he would take items in payment if they didn't have money. It was like they had two worlds, the laid back ranch house and the Lawyer and Legislature professional home in the city. 

I hadn't really thought  much about it until I started to write this post but it is interesting look back at it. My mothers father grew up poor during the depression and put himself through law school and my grandmother was a legal secretary and they ended up very well off to the point they left all their children and grandchildren a good inheritance. Having lived through the depression however, he tended to hoard things as many who had that experience did, yet he seemed to keep that part of him in the small town and had his upscale professional home in the city. 

I made a tribute to them which I will show tomorrow but I wanted to share some pictures with you from the reunion where I handed them out. We had a great time visiting and enjoying a catered meal my aunt paid for. She did all the organization and planning and I am grateful she is still around to share memories of my mother and grandparents. 

My mothers youngest brother also came and it was wonderful to see a few of his children as well as cousins from my mothers sister who passed away a few years back. They each read a tribute to their mother as they didn't get to participate in the funeral. It was sweet to hear their memories of their mother who was such a sweet and kind person. Here is a link to a post about her funeral. 

I am blessed with a large and kind family. I have a good heritage and I am glad that we can get together and enjoy the time we have with them. 

Have a Blessed and Family Oriented Day!~