This weekend we will again be hosting our annual family reunion at my parents’ house, in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas – which means it will be HOT, but we do it for the love of family (wink, wink). This is our smaller reunion, which involves only local extended family.
Last year we had both, our local annual reunion and our big reunion where we had folks from California, Mexico and all across Texas. The big reunion takes place every 5 to 10 years, depending on how soon everyone wants to get together again. 
Last year’s was a blast, despite some family drama during the planning process; but what family event ever goes down without drama? It was an all day event, in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas – which means it was HOT (It’s Texas, what more can I say?). We had breakfast, followed by lunch and games and ended with dinner and my family getting up on stage and taking turns showcasing their singing talents. A good time was had by all.
My Grandmother and Grandfather on my Mom’s side
Our local annual reunions however are held to honor the passing of my grandparents. We attend a mass in their honor in the morning, then return to my parents’ house for breakfast, games and end with my family hanging out on the patio taking turns showcasing their singing talents….hmm, not so different, is it? But it is smaller and generally breaks up around 3ish
Although it is a celebration among family, we all know family is not shy at all about letting you know when things don’t look right or aren’t handled the way they would handle it, which is what stresses out my Mom (Mom’s always want things to be perfect). This leaves my father, sister, her kids and I trying to keep her as calm as possible and/or just staying out of her way, which ever happens to be the best option at the moment. We try to remind her and any family member with an opinion on how we should do this year’s gathering, that it’s about being together, not about having things be perfect – but that doesn’t always work. What can I say, that’s family for ya – just gotta love ‘em. So as I head home this weekend for a 4 day weekend to prepare for our extended familia, I know that there will be a lot of cooking, cleaning, general preparation and family drama diffusion in my future, but I’m still looking forward to it! Family drama is a never ending battle, even in the best of families, so why not get together more often to see if we can squash/control some of the drama to try to keep it out of the normal run of the mill drama generally reserved for the Holidays?
Do you have family reunions? What fun things do you do at your reunions?
We had a family trip to NC a long time ago that was so much fun! I wish we had reunions
It sounds like a great opportunity to reconnect with everyone since life gets so busy.
It really is…we had another great one this weekend. Half weren’t able to make it, but we had a great time with those that did!