Ten Things of Thankful: Family Reunion Edition

 

Black and white photo taken in the 1930s shows an extended family standing and smiling at the camera

From as early as I can remember, "going to the family reunion" meant driving to the mountains in Oregon and having a picnic with my parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. I didn't necessarily know exactly how everyone was related, but we each could find our name on Uncle George's chart, so that meant we were all family. 

George and Dorothy stand in front of the family tree chart

As (I hope) you can tell from the photo at the top of this post, the Telfer family reunion started well before I was born. That cute little boy second from the left at the bottom of that photo? None other than Uncle George. George kept the reunion going for decades, but sometime (I believe in the years just prior to his death in 2009) the annual gathering fizzled away. 

Last year, one of my third cousins decided we needed to start the reunions again, and so we did. Attendance wasn't record-breaking, and the chart was out of date, but it was a good start after a nearly two-decade break. 

Yesterday, we again gathered together. Health and conflicting schedules prevented some that were there last year from attending this year, but we had others come who weren't there last year. I'm hopeful that as time goes by, the family reunion picnic will once again become an anticipated annual event. 

As you might imagine, my thankful list today is centered on family, from the young to those who have already passed on:

1. I'm thankful I was able to hold a cousin's granddaughter. This baby girl is cute, curious, and not yet to the "stranger danger" stage.

2. I'm thankful for the same cousin's grandson. He is a hugger, and there isn't much better than having a young child run up and give you a hug. 

3. I'm thankful for relatives who were repeat attendees, both this year and last. I know it takes time and effort to attend a reunion.

4. I'm thankful for relatives who wanted to come, but couldn't. While extended family is wonderful, more immediate family should take priority, and I know there have been more immediate family situations these past two years--both joyful and sad--that necessitated missing the picnic. 

5. I'm thankful to have reconnected with some of my dad's cousins this year. They shared some family photos and stories that I didn't remember hearing before. I appreciated their insights and humor. 

6. I'm thankful for Uncle George, who spent more hours than I previously realized gathering information about the Telfer descendants. We have outgrown the old chart and while the redesigned chart still has more descendants to add to it, it has received the seal of approval from George's daughters. That means the world to me, as I wanted to honor George's legacy with the new chart. (I've covered up the pages in the photo that have information about living people.)

The updated family reunion chart hangs between two posts at the picnic shelter

7. I'm thankful for John, who took time off of work to accompany me to the reunion. He also listened to my ever-changing ideas on how to put the chart together. 

8. I'm thankful for my parents. Although they couldn't make it to the reunion this year, we were able to go visit them yesterday after the picnic. John and I brought leftovers, picked up pie and ice cream on the way to their house, then shared stories and looked at new-to-us old photos we had scanned at the reunion. 

While family was definitely the focus this week, I am thankful for a couple of practicalities:

9. I'm thankful we booked with Southwest Airlines, so when the computer update grounded planes from other airlines on Friday, we were still able to fly out without hassle. We were delayed about 30 minutes, but that was nothing. We had a short delay today flying home, but again, nothing terrible. 

10. I'm thankful also that the power company was able to restore power in a matter of hours when a vehicle took out a power pole in our area last Thursday. The loss of electricity did not significantly impact our preparations for our trip. I was glad I had finished doing laundry earlier in the day!

What are you thankful for today? Any family reunions in your summer plans? 

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