The Reunion

When I was a child I idolized my mother’s nine brothers and sisters; I still do. Some of my earliest memories are of being put to bed at my grandmother’s house while the adults stayed up late, sitting around the oak kitchen table, drinking highballs, smoking cigarettes, telling tales, and laughing. As I got older I listened to their stories, memorized them, and this became my family lore.

The aunts and uncles held sway for many years. They continued to add to the lore. Many moved away. All had their own families. Yet they still congregated around my grandmother’s kitchen table whenever they could. Weddings, funerals, and illnesses all brought them home. I was fortunate to live in the same town as my grandmother from the time I was a junior in college until her death nearly thirty-five years later. This meant I was always around for the family gatherings and reunions, something I took for granted until I didn’t have it anymore.

It was three years since my grandmother was laid to rest, our last family reunion until we did it again last week. Many months in the planning we convened in Austin, Texas and made new memories and new stories. The aunts and uncles range in age from sixty to eighty. They still hold sway. My generation, or rather my first cousins, (I hesitate to call us a generation as we range in age from 21 to 60) and I have our own families now and are spread even farther across the country. But like our parents, we have always made family a priority and gather whenever we can.

There are thirty-four first cousins. I know them all. We have kept the bond that was created many years ago at that kitchen table. My grandmother was fond of quoting Tennyson and one of her favorite quotes was, “Our echoes roll from soul to soul, and grow for ever and for ever.” It was amazing to see the rolling echoes at the reunion.

There are fifty-two second cousins. My daughters know them all. They also know the lore, the stories that connect us and make us who we are. My two year old granddaughter was at this reunion. She is in the next tier of cousins, I think they are called third cousins, but at this point who really cares – we are all just cousins. There are just eight in this group, so far. She doesn’t know them all yet, but she will. And the stories, she will know them too. I will teach her. And one day, when I am gone, she will make sure our echoes continue to roll from soul to soul, and grow for ever and for ever. That’s what we do.