Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: The Family Reunion (06/05/08)
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TITLE: Celebrating the Lives | Previous Challenge Entry
By Judy Doyle
06/09/08 -
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I know quite a bit about my Grandfather, but while doing genealogy I learned Aunt Ruth’s name was really Dimple Ruth. I’d never heard “Dimple” as a first name, but thinking back to Aunt Ruth I think she might have had a dimple. She was approximately five feet, one or two inches tall or short, depending upon one’s perspective. She had snowy white hair, wore wire framed glasses and had an infectious laugh. I enjoyed being around Aunt Ruth. Unfortunately, she lived in Texas and our family (her brother) lived in Indiana. I rarely saw Aunt Ruth. If I was fortunate, I’d see her at our family reunion.
My Grampa’s brother was named Lawrence. Oh, Grampa had other brothers, but I don’t recall ever meeting them. Uncle Lawrence lived in Ohio. He would visit Grampa more often than Aunt Ruth. I don’t recall much about Uncle Lawrence except he was a big man (when one is less than ten years old, everyone is big) with a mustache and he smoked a cigar.
Our family gathered on a specific Sunday every year to reminisce. The reunion officially began at church. My recollection of the event is that Grampa required our attendance at church. More than half of the congregation was our family. The pastors loved it when the Burton clan gathered because it increased the attendance. I doubt the entire family was as thrilled to be there, but it was what Grampa wanted and expected.
After church, we would gather at the Lake Lemon lodge. I was one of the younger generation and was allowed to invite a friend (some might have said “an interloper”) to join the family for the day. As one might expect, the tables were laden with a veritable assortment of foods. After the meal, family sat around reminiscing. The younger family members could only tolerate so much reminiscing. We sought our own adventures.
My mother, may she rest in peace, would have flipped her lid if she had known what we were doing. The lodge was located near the lake’s dam. Given the low level of the lake, I accepted my cousin’s dare to walk across the cement dam. Duh! I don’t know what I would have done if I’d fallen in a lake side, I didn’t swim very well. And if I fell the opposite direction, in all likelihood, I wouldn’t be writing this account. I hadn’t walked many steps on the dam when I realized the stupidity of my actions and I turned around. Never did I mention the adventure to my mother.
Eventually, our adventures became boring and we’d head back to the lodge. Of course, we’d indulge in the food (usually the desserts) again. Bored of traipsing through the woods, we welcomed sitting at the picnic tables. Aunt Mary played gin rummy or Parcheesi with us. She even taught us how to play “old pshaw.”
As the sun began to set, we assembled for the obligatory family photo. It is interesting to look at the photo now. More than forty years have passed since the photo was taken. Many of those family members have left this terrestrial ball. Many have enjoyed an eternal family reunion with their loved ones. Others? I don’t know what their relationship with God was like.
Unfortunately, the younger generation of that era is now the older generation. The reunion we enjoyed at Lake Lemon long ago ceased to occur. Our “reunions” today are usually related to a funeral.
As I end a funeral service, I always encourage the family and friends to share their memories of the deceased. It is in sharing their memories that the deceased is remembered and continues to live in their hearts and minds. Until we gather for the family reunion offered to us by our Creator, let us reminisce of our loved ones and give thanks to God.
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I shudder to think of what my kids have dared each other to do!
This is great. Keep writing.