Family reunion day....
Lovely... just lovely.
It is amazing how only one day out of the year can be so dreaded. So hated. So... loathed. Family reunion.
It is not that I do not wish to see my family, and it is not that I am being anti-social. I merely find nothing of social interest with these people. Not anymore. Years ago, yes. Years ago when the reunions were still filled with people of youth. People of laughter and spirit. People who sought life and joy. I remember the volleyball games, horseshoes and bocce ball. I remember Chad (second counsin) before he grew up and moved to California, spending great volumes of time spinning me around and around on the merry-go-around until my grandmother would run out and yell at him... threatening him with bodily harm if I would have happen to have gotten motion sickness from all that spinning. Of course, this never stopped us from starting all over once her back was turned again.
It was also the night before one of these famous family reunions that my aunt Mildred gave me the all famous Goldie Hawn/Charlie's Angel's haircut (I was 11 and far to young to look that grown-up...) that my mother has still, to this day, not forgiven her for. Damn, I wish I had a picture of me with that hair cut. I bet my grandmother does, somewhere. But who knows where.
I remember as a child, having parties at barns... all the horses and wildlife. Of course, even then Chad, who was always my greatest company at all these functions, took a great deal of time throughout my childhood to teach me each and every single card game known to man (plus a few I'm sure he made up along the way) as well as a few magic tricks. Now that I think about it, I think it was even Chad who taught me how to ski, though when I came back into the house covered in mud, scraps, bruises and an otherwise mess... Chad got the worse end of the deal.
This years reunion was at Karel Park in Eldorado. Actually, that is the same location it has been for the last few years. In the past, they had moved it around several times... but as the population aged -- things became more set in stone. That place... always saddens me. I can't really explain why... not fully. Not really.
I remember as a teenager, laying upon the soft cool grass on Independence Day... waiting for the sun to set. Waiting with friends and family as the sparklers danced and the firecrackers shouted and demanded attention. The spirit of happiness and connected spirit every where. Those moments of real emotion that are required to create lasting memories.
There would be several of us girls all gathered together... giggling at the boys who were gathered at the edge of the water. The boys were always down by the edge of the water. Who knows what kept them down there. They were stay by the water, we would giggle, they would look, we would giggle some more, the world would turn, all would be right, life would go on.
It is funny how, when we return to the places of our childhood as adults, they seem so much smaller. After dinner... I took what I thought was going to be a long walk, only to discovered exactly how small the park seemed. I walked from one end to the other, covering the distance in what seemed... so little time. Why had I gotten into my car and drove this distance before? Why? And the lake.. the lake which I had so loved as a child is drained. Gone. Only rocks, grass and new trees. Barren and vast. Open space.
I walked to the front entrance of the park, such a short distance away... these toys that seemed so amusing so few years ago. They appeared so old, so ancient, so broken. They fit into the ground properly but still lay at odd angles... seemingly misplaced and forgotten. As if I had accidentally stumbled into the Island of Misfit Toys.
Though all this and everything I felt today, I would like to say one thing. Regardless of how much I did not wish to go, how much I hated even the idea of leaving. The highlight of my day was something simple. The pure joy of yelling at Greg across the parking lot... while I was so many feet up in the air. And yes, he did run. He ran to save Holly (10), Cody (8) and myself - who all truly did need someone to push us a little bit higher on the swings.
It is amazing how only one day out of the year can be so dreaded. So hated. So... loathed. Family reunion.
It is not that I do not wish to see my family, and it is not that I am being anti-social. I merely find nothing of social interest with these people. Not anymore. Years ago, yes. Years ago when the reunions were still filled with people of youth. People of laughter and spirit. People who sought life and joy. I remember the volleyball games, horseshoes and bocce ball. I remember Chad (second counsin) before he grew up and moved to California, spending great volumes of time spinning me around and around on the merry-go-around until my grandmother would run out and yell at him... threatening him with bodily harm if I would have happen to have gotten motion sickness from all that spinning. Of course, this never stopped us from starting all over once her back was turned again.
It was also the night before one of these famous family reunions that my aunt Mildred gave me the all famous Goldie Hawn/Charlie's Angel's haircut (I was 11 and far to young to look that grown-up...) that my mother has still, to this day, not forgiven her for. Damn, I wish I had a picture of me with that hair cut. I bet my grandmother does, somewhere. But who knows where.
I remember as a child, having parties at barns... all the horses and wildlife. Of course, even then Chad, who was always my greatest company at all these functions, took a great deal of time throughout my childhood to teach me each and every single card game known to man (plus a few I'm sure he made up along the way) as well as a few magic tricks. Now that I think about it, I think it was even Chad who taught me how to ski, though when I came back into the house covered in mud, scraps, bruises and an otherwise mess... Chad got the worse end of the deal.
This years reunion was at Karel Park in Eldorado. Actually, that is the same location it has been for the last few years. In the past, they had moved it around several times... but as the population aged -- things became more set in stone. That place... always saddens me. I can't really explain why... not fully. Not really.
I remember as a teenager, laying upon the soft cool grass on Independence Day... waiting for the sun to set. Waiting with friends and family as the sparklers danced and the firecrackers shouted and demanded attention. The spirit of happiness and connected spirit every where. Those moments of real emotion that are required to create lasting memories.
There would be several of us girls all gathered together... giggling at the boys who were gathered at the edge of the water. The boys were always down by the edge of the water. Who knows what kept them down there. They were stay by the water, we would giggle, they would look, we would giggle some more, the world would turn, all would be right, life would go on.
It is funny how, when we return to the places of our childhood as adults, they seem so much smaller. After dinner... I took what I thought was going to be a long walk, only to discovered exactly how small the park seemed. I walked from one end to the other, covering the distance in what seemed... so little time. Why had I gotten into my car and drove this distance before? Why? And the lake.. the lake which I had so loved as a child is drained. Gone. Only rocks, grass and new trees. Barren and vast. Open space.
I walked to the front entrance of the park, such a short distance away... these toys that seemed so amusing so few years ago. They appeared so old, so ancient, so broken. They fit into the ground properly but still lay at odd angles... seemingly misplaced and forgotten. As if I had accidentally stumbled into the Island of Misfit Toys.
Though all this and everything I felt today, I would like to say one thing. Regardless of how much I did not wish to go, how much I hated even the idea of leaving. The highlight of my day was something simple. The pure joy of yelling at Greg across the parking lot... while I was so many feet up in the air. And yes, he did run. He ran to save Holly (10), Cody (8) and myself - who all truly did need someone to push us a little bit higher on the swings.