Over the weekend we took a trip to Huntsville, Alabama for a Family Reunion. It was the first family reunion in over 30 years for my father’s side of the family. The reunion started Friday evening and went through Sunday evening. My immediate family and I arrived Saturday morning, as my husband couldn’t get off a day earlier since we had been off work earlier in the month of June with surgery for Emma. Upon arriving I was SUPER excited to go to Alabama because it was my husband’s first time meeting that side of the family, he knew a few of them from us growing up in church together and a couple were in our wedding.
Below are 5 Things I Took Away from our Family Reunion Trip…they are in no particular order! I was sitting thinking about the events during the reunion and created a small list!
- It’s Good To Getaway… For us this trip was truly a sacrifice financially! But I am so GLAD that we were able to make it happen! I didn’t realize until we came back how much we needed time away. I took my iPad with me but I never took it out of my bag, and I didn’t bring a computer at all. I wanted to take the time to be in the moment and enjoy ad soak up every bit of family that I could! From the clowning around to the endless amounts of hugs we gave and received over the weekend. This is one of the first times in a LONG time that we were able to get together as one big family and it wasn’t surrounded by the death of someone. It was a joyous occasion and I look forward to the future reunions!
- My Children Love a Good Road-Trip…Yes, they got stir crazy from time to time but overall they loved going out of town and enjoying new scenery. They sang, danced, slept, cried, played with their toys and iPads, and were bribed with Gummy Bears (when it got to be too much…don’t judge me)…but overall they did amazing on the 18 hours round-trip. With all the family staying in the “main hotel” they were able to run down the hall to their aunt and uncle’s room…and from there go through to their grandparent’s room (they checked in at the same time and ended up with adjoining rooms).
- Once the Baby, Always the Baby…(History Lesson) My Father is the baby of he and his two brothers. And we grew up VERY close with my cousins from that side, and my sister and I are the youngest two of the cousins. My sister is 3.5 years older than me and now that we are grown it seems as if we are all the same age, but it is very clear that no matter how old we all are I will ALWAYS be the baby of the family. I have learned to just deal, but they are SUPER protective of my family and I. Sometimes I sit back and look at them all in action and laugh to myself because I am a grown married woman with two children…but to them I am Little Boochie (family nickname).
- Its Okay to Travel with a Purpose…on our way home I shared some pictures on FB from the weekend. I was still basking in the joy of being with family. There were a couple of comments made about why Darrick and I didn’t come to visit different people. We were strictly traveling with a purpose! And I don’t feel bad about it at all! There are just some trips that I am not going to make it around the entire state to visit everyone…and that’s okay! Maybe next time, or my door is always open come visit us if you really want to see us!
- Southern at Heart…From my fathers side to my mothers side, pretty much everyone is from some part of Alabama! And even though my mom was born in Cleveland, her parents were from Alabama as well, so she was brought up with Southern Traditions and so were my sister and I. There is a special place in my heart for the South! Darrick and I have always talked about moving South, that’s on hold for the moment but we both love the south!
BONUS: FAMILY OVER EVERYTHANG!!! I mean really this goes without saying but it felt absolutely wonderful to be in the presence of family! Having fun and loving on each other! Talking about all memories of getting each other in trouble, or having a grand plan only to have it shut down by all the parents! And now seeing all of us grown and following our own paths…its truly a blessing! Family takes care of you, when DJ got sick and I said we were leaving for a couple hours the cousins in the kitchen went into overtime in packing us up plates to go to the hotel so we didn’t have to stop for food on the way there! I truly appreciated it because even though DJ isn’t the first child I get frazzled sometimes when either one of them gets sick! My cousin Adrienne (she’s a nurse) in the pic above even taught me a new trick to do when the kids have an upset stomach (Hey Girl Hey)!!!
I know part of my excitement is the fact that my family never really had family reunions. I think the last real reunion I went to I was a baby (I was DJ’s size), and I don’t remember it I just remember the stories that my mother and father have shared with me. So I truly hope this becomes a bi-yearly event and moves around to different cities, and I hope that the cousins around our age really come up with a “cousins trip”…this just sounds fun!
