We’ve never had what I’d call a family reunion in my family. In my lifetime with my parents alive, my mother’s sister always lived nearby so we saw her and my uncle often. My mother’s brother resided in New York City and Florida depending upon the season and then retired to Florida. We saw him and my aunt on a bi-yearly basis. My dad’s brother lived across the country and I only saw him twice.
My husband’s parents are deceased and the rest of his family lives across the country from us now and with the exception of one brother, we haven’t remained very close.
When my parents were living, we had lively gatherings of siblings, their spouses and subsequent offspring at their house. The crowd expanded as the years passed by but we were all living in fairly close proximity and it was easy to attend and always a pleasure, never a duty. After my parents died, I was acutely aware of the importance of coming together to celebrate the major holidays at least. As close as we all are and as much as we love each other, it’s very easy to stop making the effort to carry on without the steadfast presence of one’s parents.
These days, most members of my family gather together at my house for Thanksgiving and my oldest sister’s for Christmas. We usually plan a get-together sometime during the summer months at my sister’s as well. We may not spend a great deal of time together physically but we are always together in spirit.
1 comment:
<As close as we all are and as much as we love each other, it’s very easy to stop making the effort to carry on without the steadfast presence of one’s parents>
How true this is! We are missing my dad, my oldest sister and her family... One sister's husband is an ass and another's is in jail. Our family gatherings are so depleted that they are almost more depressing than not bothering... Lisa :-]
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