Family

   We lost one of our greatest family members a few weeks ago. My uncle, the oldest of my father's siblings. I think most of us took it pretty hard. I suspect that it has a lot to do with his death being so unexpected. He was actually our second uncle to pass on, but the first was suffering from Leukemia, so I think we were all a little more prepared for that one.
   The point in all of this is how such a tragedy can bring so many people together. I have a younger cousin who I was never all that close with when we were kids, probably because of our age difference. I would always pal around with his older brother but I have gotten closer to him in the past few years. I think age and distance has a way of doing that to people.
   Anyway, back to the point, this cousin decided that he was going to take a stand. At the funeral he made it known that he was sick and tired of only seeing our family when something terrible has happened. He decided that we need to start having a family reunion of our own.
   We all went to them as kids, they are some of our fondest memories. They were held every year at Rocks State Park in Maryland. We would spend the day tubing down the river and pigging out on the awesome cooking of my father's aunts and uncles. Not to mention my grandmother, boy do we miss her Thanksgiving feasts.
   They still have those reunions, although they have moved to Virginia. The only problem with attending them is that we really don't know any of those people. My grandparents have passed on, as well as most of their siblings, so the folks at the current reunions are usually some distance cousins of my parents.
   Oh sure, my dad still goes to them. In fact, my uncle that just passed stood up at the last one and announced that he didn't like the way the reunion was divided into family groups. No one was mingling. Everyone was off in their own little cluster. It was kind of sad. That is why we decided to start having our own family reunion.
   We are calling it The Cousin's Reunion. Not that we would leave our parents out, of course they would be invited, and even honored at the event. We just want to take things back to the way they were when we were kids. We want our kids to get to know each other, we want them to tube down the river and try their hand at catching a fish. We want to be able to see each other and actually have a conversation without being in a state of mourning. We just want to spend time together.
   It's a really great feeling. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time. Just knowing that there are other people out there in the world that truly care about you and want to see you. I am really looking forward to it.
   I got off my subject a little. Back to my cousin. My awesome cousin felt so strongly about this reunion that he rented out an entire 137 acre, sleeps 40+ ranch in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia for three nights. He didn't want anyone to have an excuse not to come. That's how badly he wanted to bring our family back together.
   He is my hero. I do feel bad that he spent so much, so I opted to take on the task of making sure that everyone is fed. I am planning meals to feed the masses for three days, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Now, all of the rest of the aunts, uncles, and cousins just have to get themselves there. It is going to be a blast!
   If you live in Southern Virginia and are looking for a nice place to have an event, check out visitstillhouse.com
   No, they are not paying me for advertising. :)  They have just been so accommodating, and the place looks like it is going to be awesome.

My Cousins

Brandee, Me, Shannon (my sister), Ricky, Jay (awesome cousin), and Victor

   I guess that's enough of my ramblings for now. :)