Cookin' Up Creations

Does your family have a big annual family reunion, with family members from several generations and branches of the family tree?

My paternal grandmother's family has its annual reunion the last Sunday in June, in the county where my grandmother (and her parents and my dad and I) grew up. It used to be huge with four generations from Wyoming to New York attending, However, as my grandmother and her siblings began to pass on, and younger generations scattered farther away, attendance dwindled. Now the ones who still attend meet at someone's house. I last attended in 2008.

My husband's mother's family reunion went the same way. Out of nine siblings, only two are alive, but they are in failing health and hearing 90 years old. Their reunion had been dwindling in numbers for several years as our generation and our kids all scattered across the country. It's been quite a few years since the last one.

I sometimes hated going when I was a kid, and as a parent it was a lot of work to get all of our family, our "dish to pass and our own table service" there. But now I really miss those annual get togethers. It seems we only see each other at weddings and funerals, if that.

Yes. It is my mother's side of the family. We used to have it the Labor Day weekend at my cousin's lake home. This year the location has been moved to a campground in IA the weekend before Labor Day and most are not thrilled but with age comes changes. It is the closest location to my 96 year young Mom who is the last of her generation and it is felt that it is important for her to be there.

Patti wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 8:09 am Yes. It is my mother's side of the family. We used to have it the Labor Day weekend at my cousin's lake home. This year the location has been moved to a campground in IA the weekend before Labor Day and most are not thrilled but with age comes changes. It is the closest location to my 96 year young Mom who is the last of her generation and it is felt that it is important for her to be there.

My paternal grandmother was the oldest of the 8 kids in her family and was the unofficial queen of the family reunions. She LOVED those get togethers and was thrilled when she had a big turn-out among her own family. I tried to get there with my kids because she loved having us all there. She was there every year, never missed a one. After she died, a light kind of went out and attendance dropped quite a bit.

reposted 3/19/2024