The Family Reunion-What's Your Name Again?

Stop me if this sounds familiar. You drive 650 miles with your wife and kids in tow, for an extra special long weekend getaway. You arrive at your destination and shake the first hand of the dozens of wonderful people you're related to, have met a multitude of times, yet have no recollection of their names, when your hyper-active, throw all caution to the wind, toddler, shoots out the door and dares you to chase after him. Next thing you know, you look up, it's 3 days later, the man van is packed up and you're back on the road for another carefree 11 hour jaunt across America's heartland, with your own customized version of the 'hell's angels'. Welcome to the family reunion.

The family reunion is wonderful in theory. Get together with your family for a few days, reminisce about the memories none of you share together and fantasize about how much better your life is, than the lonely schmuck you actually do manage to capture 5 minutes of adult conversation with. It could always be worse, I suppose. You could be having this same conversation at the kids' table at each of the 4 daily, overindulgent, buffet style meals over the course of those same 3 days. Imagine what a loser you'd feel like then.

No, to me, it would seem to make much more sense to have a reunion, if you're going to go to the trouble of planning such an event, at a daycare. I mean, isn't that all it is anyway? A bunch of strangers chasing their ADD monsters all over the neighborhood, when they could keep them corralled in a 20x40 room hopped up on juice boxes and fruit snacks? Does this not make perfectly sane sense? The only drawback, regarding attendance, would be the inability to serve alcohol in such a facility, but that just means less people you have to deal with anyways. It's perfect, and it's about time.

Let's face it, the advent of social media, texting and the like, has made it far too convenient to stay in touch with the people you value and those people aren't going anyway, because you already talk to them every day! You would have more luck (and fun) running your 'Familypalooza' by plucking 30 people out of line at Walmart, nuking some franks and beans, serving up some warm PBR and hiring a karaoke DJ to headline the festivities. If we're being completely honest, we can admit that when it comes to these types of endeavors, we suck at giving the effort we cherish and deserve...most of the time.

Recently, I attended a "reunion" weekend and dreaded the thought of each of the aforementioned nightmare scenarios becoming part of my permanent legacy and memory bank, and I'll be honest enough to tell you, I only have room enough for so many deposits each month. But, this was different. This was a celebration of the lives of their ancestors; a living, breathing history lesson and it was captivating. People gathered in circles to hear the stories of 3 brothers being born in a house their father had built, how they walked across the street to attend elementary school and how dreadful it was knowing the nuns could walk right back across the street, tugging on their ears if they misbehaved. It was inspiring standing in the middle of an old abandoned church where their grandparents had been married and where they now lay together in a cemetery on those same grounds. And, what about the little boy who would get lured, by his sister, to the railroad tracks next to the lumberyard a block from their house, whenever a train could be heard approaching? It feels like an insult to call this a reunion, because it embodied so many elements that a reunion is not. No, this was a familial gathering to honor a proud lineage, and I was so happy and proud to be a part.

We, in American society, need to prioritize our lives and stop being so selfish and stupid. Take time to celebrate those around us, in a manner in which they deserve. Honor the people who've come before you and thank the ones you're with, because they are your heritage, we are bound to that heritage and it's our responsibility to carry on that legacy with dignity and grace. Dare to ditch the reunion and, instead, immerse yourself in a very personal, tangible history lesson.  The satisfaction and appreciation you'll feel, truly nourishes the soul.

Until tomorrow,

Scott