A Reunion

This past weekend I attended, for the first time, a Family Reunion on Scott’s side of the family.

Scott’s mom is named Judy. This was for her side of the family.

Judy has two sisters, Carol and Faye. Carol is older and Faye is younger. Growing up, they would spend their summers in Kentucky on the farm of their mother’s sister. They have two cousins, Linda aka Sissy and Donna.

The host family for the reunion was Linda and her husband Cecil.

Once we got there, and the introductions were made, we moved inside and I said “okay tell me who everyone is and how you are all related.” Within minutes, photo albums were pulled out and stories started being told. I was able to sit back and see the joy on Judy’s face as she told the story of her uncle, Linda’s dad, giving her money to go to the movies, then picking them up and taking them to Dairy Queen. I found out from Linda that Judy had no taste in clothing growing up because she wanted to wear plaid and checks together. The laughter was contagious.

The first night for dinner, Cecil made BBQ ribs and chicken, Donna made coleslaw and Linda made a hot potato salad that was to die for. There were also pinto beans and ham with homemade corn bread. And just when you thought you couldn’t eat anymore, Linda pulled out two homemade chocolate pies, one homemade coconut cream pie and a homemade peach cream cheese something or other that was so good it could melt your hair!

We decided to head down to downtown Paducah to a street fair down on the river. I was worried that is was going to be crowded, but there was the perfect amount of people there. I quickly learned that you can dare Scott’s Aunt Carol to do anything and she will. I had her singing back up for a street singer and dancing with an intoxicated man named Mel who generously offered to take her home. All of the girls went on a carriage ride, where the young driver was given so much grief that I am sure he prayed for rapture to happen right there and then.

We finally headed for the hotel. The plan was to go to bed, but we all began to chat. Scott showed his aunts and uncle pictures of our house. His aunt and uncle showed us pictures of everything from being a fireman to their grandkids. We went to bed late that night with smiles on our faces and our stomachs hurting from laughing so hard.

The next morning, we took the breakfast area by storm. We took pictures like we were tourists and Scott’s Uncle Dave showed a home movie from his computer. It was from a time long ago and stirred emotions so strong, that I felt like an intruder watching it happen. It was there that I realized we all have a past that we can have regrets about, but that there is also good that comes from those regrets. And sometimes, you have to wait for years to finally see the good, but it is there…hidden in a home movie.

We finally head over to Linda’s house, but not before Scott’s Aunt Carol gave Courtney and Lacia (the only teenagers in the group) these OBNOXIOUS clackers. As punishment, I made Courtney and Lacia ride in their car for the day! The girls head to Patti’s Plantation, a village that was from the 1800’s. It has been converted into shops and restaurants. We walk through the shops and eat lunch together. We laugh and eat and just enjoy each other. During this time, the guys are at home watching the Indy 500 and telling lies about fishing.

That night Cecil made BBQ Hamburgers and we all ate chips brought by Scott’s Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave. I thought Scott was going to pull one of the bags and hoard them for himself. I can’t remember the brand, but Scott was very excited about them. We gorged ourselves. All of the adults were outside on the screened porch while the younger generation stayed in the kitchen. Scott’s Aunt Faye accidentally left her camera on our table. This is where the fun took a turn. With two teenagers, Scott, his cousin Trisha and me left to our own imaginations and someone else’s camera we got a little silly. Aunt Faye caught us and while trying not laugh did her best at scolding us. We were so far past being reasonably sane, that we didn’t care.

Finally, we all gathered on the screened in porch to take group shots with everyone’s camera. Inappropriate comments were made and pure enjoyment was caught on camera. New memories were made and old ones shared. I feel honored to be a part of this family.

The next day hugs were handed out and good-bye’s said with promises to do it again next year and to keep in touch. Hopefully, we will all keep our words. As we drove home, we each had something different that we liked the best, but all of us agreed that this weekend was one of our favorites.

Family can drive you crazy, make you mad and warm your heart all at the same time.

Isn’t great??!!