Family Reunions

Family Reunion 2025 is in-the-bag

I was very pleasantly surprised that we had representation from all four branches of the family. I lost two cousins in June, one from the Macomb County branch and one from the East Coast branch. Both cousins were in their early 60s. One death was expected. One death was not. That cast a pall over reunion.

Cousin Stephanie pointed out that many of the next generation are "Counter Culture". There have families with 4, 3, 1, 1, 2 and 2 kids. Others are newly-wed and are busy looking under cabbage leaves for their first.

I didn't get to talk with everybody.

Crazy fact: My youngest sister hosted the reunion. She put her home-of-the-last 25 years on the market yesterday. Meanwhile, the home where she hosted the reunion is a 1400 square-foot summer cottage that is mid-remodel to make it weather-tight for 365 days of the year. She took it all in stride with the grace and aplomb of one born to royalty. It is not about "flexing" status. Reunions are about people and conversations. 

I learned that one of my favorite nieces put a bid on a property a scant 3.8 miles (as the crow flies) from where I live. It looks like it is only 1.5 miles from where Southern Belle lives. I am thrilled to see her move out of Lansing. She lives in 48910 which isn't as high-crime as 48911 but it does have issues. For instance, somebody torched the motorcycle she had parked next to her very flammable house one night several summers ago.

The heat-index was in the upper 90s all afternoon. I took a dip in the lake and the young ladies who were already swimming decided that I needed to be plastered with clay. The rest of the story is that the "young ladies" were all under 5 years-old and they somehow got it into their heads that the clay was to be applied to my back and massaged in. The clay was "marl", a calcium carbonate rich material that forms domes that bubble up through the beach-sand.

Mostly, I tried to keep my mouth still and listen to other people's stories. I was partially successful.