Relatively Speaking

We just returned home from having supper with two of Hubby's brothers, their wives, our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  One is the brother from Iowa.  The other brother lives about an hour from here.  The Iowa brother is the father to the nephew who just spent two nights with us.  This gathering can only mean one thing: it's October.

October is one of three months that our family is requested to attend family reunions.  The first comes in May with Mom's side of the family and a weekend-long cousin camp out at the old family farm.  Number two is with Dad's family in September at a restaurant in a small town full of history.  The third is the first reunion in October and another of Mom's family reunions in the town where both sets of my grandparents and several aunts and uncles resided.  Some relatives still make it their home.  And finally, my Hubby gets to see his family at reunion number four, also held in October.

This final reunion is where we have, for the last five years, had overnight company.  Another brother and wife stay at a local hotel and a sister and brother and families drive in for the day.  Usually it's been the brother and wife from Iowa that stay with us.  This year it was their son and family.  Most all of those siblings and their kids that attended the official reunion come to our home afterwards to catch up on the past years' activities. 

Just like the family members, each of the reunions is special and different.  One is, for the most part, without parents of the older cousins, so gets a little rowdy at times.  Another is small and getting smaller with most attendees over the age of 50.  One combines my maternal grandparent's family with the descendants of my grandma's father's family and includes a white elephant auction sure to entertain each year.  And one is relatively new, having it's beginning about six years ago.  People are still getting to know each other.  Unfortunately, in that short span of time, a few of that group have died.  And so it goes.

On the bright side, it seems everyone enjoys visiting with each other and the younger generation are getting to know their cousins.  There are also babies being born to all of these families.  It's the little ones that will, hopefully, keep the family circles alive so that they'll reminisce about these reunions in the future.