Family Reunion

It's a family reunion weekend. Not here of course… back home. Laura and the kids are heading up to the Finger Lakes to visit her cousins for what has become a Platt or Maxwell (sorry, but I forget which! Forgive me, I'm just the enabler!!!) family gathering. We went last year and had an absolutely great time. The kids met some cousins (a couple of times removed, but cousins none the less) that were close to their ages and seemed to quickly establish some ties. That's one thing that they have really missed out on: having cousins to share growing up with.

My sister Susan is the only one with kids, but hers are quite a bit younger than mine, and a continent away. We try to keep in touch, but it's hard living so far away, and while her kids are just starting school, mine are already finishing up, so there will never be those really strong ties that only come with shared summers and secrets.

I grew up in a military family who moved around the world most of the time I was growing up. Up until I went to college, the longest we ever spent in one place was maybe 3-1/2 years in Italy, and rarely were we around family. We did tend to gravitate towards my Mom's family in Washington State whenever my Dad went on a remote assignment, so I got to know the cousins on that side of the family extremely well. My Mom is one of 6 girls, so there were lots of kids around, especially since at one point four families lived within about 4 miles of each other, most within a block or two. The great part about where we lived was it was on a beach on one of the San Juan Islands north of Seattle. Summers days were long and the weather was incredible. On the beach the tide went out for hundreds of yards. We had cookouts among the driftwood, built tree houses in the forest, dug for clams, pulled crab pots, rode bikes to Foote's Market, rowed out to uninhabited islands… it was just a great place to hang out with tons of things to do. And with nine cousins and three siblings, there was always someone to do it with.

My Dad's side of the family has always been a mystery to us. When we were in the States, we lived on the west coast, primarily in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona where there was good flying weather for military training. My Dad's family is from Minneasota, which is quite a haul. We only stopped in couple of times, but those trips have never been forgotten.

When I was 8 or 9 we were assigned to a base in North Africa, and before we left, Dad wanted us to visit his family because we would be gone for several years. So we drove across the northern half of the country from Washington to Minneapolis. Dad is the youngest of six, and they ALL have several kids, so I remember meeting just a boatload of kids, all pretty much my age or a little older. It was pretty much chaos the whole time we were there. Lot's of fun, but way too short to making any lasting bonds.

Later in high school we were living in Phoenix and my cousin Dawn came and stayed with us for a week or so during her Easter break. She is the same age as I am and we immediately hit it off as if we'd known each other all our lives. It is sad we only had that little time together, though we stay in touch quite a bit now, especially in this electonic age of e-mail.

When I graduated College, I had a month of leave to use before reporting to Nav school, and for some reason I had started corresponding with my cousin Kristy, another of my Dad's nieces who also was the same I was. After graduation, I drove from Colorado to Washington via Frazee, Minneasota, to meet my Dad's next older brother's family and get to know them. I spent about a week and a half living with them on their farm, helping with the haying (discovering I had incredible hay fever!), getting to know Kristy and her older brothers, and small town life. I mean REALLY small town…. It was a blast! I really hated to leave after establishing those ties with my "long-lost" cousins…

Now we're grown, our kids are all heading to college or have graduated… and a couple of my cousins have died, way too early. There's a circle of life there, but the one thing that makes it all work is the feeling of family, connection and shared experiences. We all have stories about Grandma, Grandpa, or Uncle Don... (Do you remember when Uncle John had one or five too many and called the Pope???) Some are the same and some are from vastly different viewpoints, but all are fun to share and enjoy. It's fun to get together, to catch up, and enjoy each other's company after so long apart.

I hope my family makes some great memories this weeknd. May the steaks be juicy, the drinks tall and frosty, and the stories unending and full of (enhanced) details. The good lord willing and lake don't rise…it should be a blast. I'm already looking forward to next year!

--- Father, son, brother, grandson, cousin... and third tier enabler