Family

A couple of weekends ago my dad's side of the family got together for a family reunion. He's the oldest of 10 so it's a big family. I have 32 cousins and if my memory is right the official count for the descendents of my grandpa and grandma is now 134. While most of us live in Iowa or Minnesota we are spread from New York City to Seattle to Arizona. So it was pretty good that over 90 of us showed up at Mahoney State Park near Ashland Nebraska.

Besides the super hot weather, there are a few things I'll remember about the weekend. One will be listening to 3 of my younger aunts and uncles talk about the boy/girl friends of some of the older ones. They remembered names and specific events. Oh the stories that come out!

The other highlight of the weekend was some pictures my brother put together. He blended old (i.e. when my aunts and uncles were much younger) and new (i.e. up to 2011). There were many good laughs at things that can only be funny to family members. I enjoyed watching my cousins' kids laugh at the way mom and dad used to look or get a rather puzzled expression when told the man in the picture was Grandpa. Hairstyles, clothes and glasses sure do change over the years. The four cousins who lined up with their boys who were born within 2 months of each other last summer looked totally normal but I'm sure we will get a good laugh when we see that picture in 20 years. There were also some tears as Aunt Suzanne is greatly missed. There were a couple of comments about how our family seems to be crying more. That's a good thing. Even a bunch of stoic Dutch folk can learn to let their heart show.

Over recent months we've been studying Ephesians at church. One of the themes that is being stressed is that church is a family of families. One of our discussions centered on the importance of each of us knowing where we fit in this family. To me it doesn't seem very complicated since I compare it to my big extended family. No matter what the personality or the quirk, everyone in the family fits - because they are family. It seems to me it comes down to showing up and just being who you are. And that's the case whether you're the patriarch (that would be my dad), one of the cousins, the newest in-law or the youngest baby.