The Family Reunion

I must share a condensed version of this short article from the book SWAG…

“Not even an act of God can stop the family reunion. If you have a family, they will come. This is because every family has at least one perky person who is in chare of reunion plans. The perky planner has enough energy to make the activity director on a cruise ship look dull. This is a woman who owns a badminton set and carries nametags in her glove compartment… (Love you Aunt Kathy)

…it is your familial obligation to pack up your immediate family and you’re obligated to sit outside…while you shout into half-deaf ears to identify your particular branch on the family tree. There will be a forced feeding about noon. Your great-aunt will back you into a corner to try a spoonful of her famous potato salad, which she proudly maintains has been loaded into her care and ready for the family reunion for three days.In a futile attempt to identify something safe to eat, you will whisper furtively to the one cousin whose company you still enjoy as an adult “Who made this?”

You will be hugged until you gag. You will be asked embarrassing questions…you will speculate about your genetic connection to this um- attractive group of people, and you will indulge in a few minutes of secret fantasy that you are really a long-lost member of an obscure royal family who was somehow dropped into the heart of America.

Then like every year, there will be one moment when you are actually glad you came. You hold a frail, aging hand for perhaps the last time while you recall an almost forgotten fragment of memory from your childhood, or you will look out and see your kids playing with cousins they see once a year as if they are long-lost brothers….and you will remember what part of you came from this family.