Families & Get Togethers

We enjoyed an annual rite of passage yesterday – my annual family reunion. Well, to be more accurate, in our family it's known as The Cousins' Reunion. This event has occurred every year for the past 58 years – I can always keep track of that statistic, since I've often been told I was 2 ½ when the first one occurred.

My maternal grandmother was #6 in a family of 7 girls. Two of the sisters married but had no children. The other five, however, produced a total of 26 first cousins. This was the group who decided to get together annually to visit and catch up – The Cousins' Reunion.

The date has never been really set in stone, but it's usually been late summer – most of the ones I remember occurred sometime in August. When I was in elementary school, we usually got together the third Sunday in August – which often meant those of us in the smaller schools would start school the next day. Then at some point, it became the first Sunday in August. It's been on that date for years.

In the beginning, we traded off hosting the reunion at a cousin's home. That was fun and took us to various places. For awhile, we used Carrollton Park one year, and Richmond Park the next. That kept a pretty central location for everyone. I know there was a later period of using the homes because while I was in college we drove to Belton to one cousin's home – her lawn bordered a golf course, and we all got wet when we were visiting in the back yard and the golf course sprinklers came on!

By the time I was back in the Midwest, after a nomadic period in Kansas and then Oregon, the reunion was back at the Carrollton Park every year. My kids always enjoyed time playing on the equipment, occasionally with other young cousins in attendance. The past couple of years, we've bowed to the age of the original generation and started having the reunion at an indoor venue in Carrollton. I must say, we all like it. It's easy access for everyone (yesterday we had two in wheelchairs and one using a walker), the bathrooms are right there, there's ice, water, comfortable tables and chairs. Just so much easier. We did have a few flies yesterday (it is August in Missouri, after all!) - but nothing like outside at the park. And we don't have to worry about the weather.

The original 26 cousins were scattered around the U.S., though many of them have made the trek home every few years for the reunion. My generation, though, is much more scattered. Not many of my generation come to the reunion on a regular basis, so we're at the point we could be seeing the end on the horizon. It will be sad, if and when that happens. But we've had a good run. And for as long as it lasts, we enjoy ourselves. It's always good to visit and catch up, to see the pictures. We enjoy the food, sharing recipes, and whatever else comes along. You know, come to think of it, the reunion is the only time I see some of my relatives who don't live all that far away! It's good we keep this going.

On a completely different subject, I've mentioned the online class I've been taking. I admit to stressing a little bit over it – while we don't get grades and it doesn't matter to anyone else what my outcome is, it matters to me. I've been watching the lectures, taking notes, doing the required reading, etc. What I hadn't done was bite the bullet and do my first graded assignment.

I was a decent student, but I haven't been in a classroom as a student for a good many years (try 40). I was concerned about how my retention is functioning and if I'm really learning anything. So this afternoon, I was feeling a little more confident and did my online assignment. And I aced it. Go, me! I had to print off the page saying I had a perfect score (okay, it was only 6/6, but it's the principle!). I'll keep it when I get stressed about the next assignment to give my confidence a boost.