Every
June, my family hosts a big reunion in upstate New York. Relatives come from
all ends of the country: California, Florida, Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
It’s a chance for us to reconnect, catch up on the latest family news, and just
spend important time bonding with one another. And this year, we even had
special guests from Buenos Aires, Argentina!
There’s
a story here…
Readers
of this blog will remember that in February 2016, Jenna Ives and I took a girl
road trip to South America. Jenna wanted to learn to tango and to see the
Rolling Stones (her favorite group) perform there, and I wanted to meet some relatives
in South America that my cousin in New York had found on Facebook. (You see, we
recently discovered that my great-grandfather re-married after his first wife
died, and I had this whole other step-branch of the family who had settled in
Buenos Aires that we never knew about.)
So
I contacted them.
My
gracious great-uncle Ben in Buenos Aires put together a big party so I could
meet about two dozen aunts, uncles and cousins. It was very emotional and sweet
to be embraced by these people who had never even seen me before (and probably
hadn’t known about me, either). They welcomed me with open arms, like, well,
one of the family J
So
I invited them to come to the New York family reunion. I know it’s a long trip
(5500 miles and about 11 hours in the air) but Uncle Ben and his daughter
decided to come!
The
reunion happened earlier this month, and I’m happy to report it was just as
emotional for Uncle Ben as it had been for me. He got to meet his nephew (my
dad) and his two nieces (my aunts) in person for the first (and possibly only)
time. We threw a party for him with 38 relatives, and let him know about more
relatives in New Jersey, with whom he is visiting right now.
They
say you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. I am very lucky
to have a wonderful, loving, supportive family which happily seems to be
growing every year!
In
September, my hubby and I will be visiting more of this branch of the family in
Italy. And who knows? Jenna Ives may come along, too, because I understand the
Rolling Stones are playing a show in Lucca, Italy. (Sheesh, she’s so easy!)
Family
is everything. Go hug your relatives.
Until
next month,
Leigh
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