Family Reunions, another taste!

Isleib family gathering, circa 1960

LUCY BURDETTE: So interesting that Ingrid invited us to contribute to a post on reunions during the same month that I was attending two! These were family reunions, one for my 90-year-old uncle, and one for John's 100 year old cousin (and yes, he has amazing genes.) I thought you might enjoy a little peek into my family's behavior during a get-together. 

John and Lucy with birthday boy

Uncle Don was my father's only brother, four years younger. They were devoted to each other – when my father was ailing, Don called every single day for several years running.

Years ago, when John and I were first married, he was attending his first extended family party with me, a 50th wedding anniversary for Don and his bride, Carol. John's family is absorbed (some might say obsessed) with sports. So he wanted to know what equipment to bring along for the weekend. Tennis rackets? Golf clubs? Ping-pong paddles? My cousin Steve responded: when you're with the Isleibs, all you need is a knife and fork.

This get together didn't let us down in the food department. The three daughters in law and their daughters cooked all the food – an amazing feast! (Here are my three cousins and Uncle Don in line.)









My cousin Tom, who you may remember from his appearance several years ago as our resident Limerick genius, is very interested in genealogy. He made this chart for his father. 





But much to the dismay of my siblings and me, we were not on it. And I have to confess that we were not gracious about our absence, although he explained very reasonably that he didn't have room. 




We felt compelled to follow up the next morning with a rejoinder.







Then there was a very clever quiz about my uncle's life – here's one of the questions:

2. What was the most disgusting food Don has eaten in his foreign travels, or at home?

a. Brains of a live monkey in Sumatra
b. Insect “paste” on unleavened bread in Cameroon
c. Fish with a parasitic worm in its flesh from Arthur Treacher’s Fish ‘n’ Chips in Lansing
d. Roasted goat’s eyeball in Zambia




And finally there came a wonderful game called where in the world is Don Isleib? And a gift exchange, for which we were asked to bring a gift related to some aspect of his life.





Here's the birthday boy, exhausted by his big weekend! So that's my family in a nutshell--food, clever wordplay, lots of laughing and teasing.


What would your family gathering be like?

Will I See You at the Reunion?

INGRID THOFT

A few years ago, my best friend from college and I stood on the threshold of a dorm room at our alma mater.  We surveyed the scene, and she said what I was thinking:  “It’s smaller, right?  It wasn’t this small when we were here.”  It was, in fact, that small.  The good news was that the prison issue sheets were so rough they exfoliated our skin while we slept.  When we ventured into the common bathrooms, my friend pulled back the shower curtain on one of the stalls and exclaimed, “Oh. My. Word.!”  If you knew my friend, you would know this was the equivalent of blue streak from a sailor. 

Coarse sheets and grungy shower stalls aside, I’ve attended all of my college reunions, every five years.  My attendance is partly due to my mom who attended the same college and is a firm believer that reunions are must-attend events.  Our reunions aren’t wild parties by any stretch of the imagination, but they are an opportunity to revisit college traditions, reconnect with friends, and interact with women who are sharing comparable challenges and experiencing similar milestones.  Both my mom and I have found that the relationships we had while at school are just one piece of reunion:  It’s the opportunity for new relationships that is an unexpected delight.

I have to admit, I haven’t made an effort to attend any of my high school reunions, and I wonder if they would be as fulfilling as my college events.  I somehow doubt it, but maybe I’m really missing out. 

I never miss my annual family reunion, which happens every summer.  It’s just the immediate family, and as the grandkids get older, it has become more of a scheduling puzzle, but we try to do it just the same.  We squeeze a lot into a short span of time: a badminton tournament, a scavenger hunt, Uncle Doug’s steak tips on the grill, and a sleepover in Nana’s room.  And t-shirts!  We have a new t-shirt every year, which we wear around town during the scavenger hunt.  This prompts questions from strangers like, "Are you part of a sports team?"  No, but we're great at badminton! 

 

Your turn:  Are you a reunion-goer? Avoid them like the plague?  College, high school or family?