I just returned from a few weeks in the Piedmont area of North Carolina.... My two brothers, three of my nieces and a bunch of our cousins live in the area.
They, my sister and her family from Florida and several cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces with their children all traveled from Tennessee, Florida and Georgia,....many whom I hadn't seen in a long time, to celebrate the life of my parents.
All of us 4 children, 9 of the 11 grandchildren, 11 of the 15 great-grandchildren and 4 of the 6 great-great-grandchildren along with dozens of nieces and nephews of both our parents, plus long time family friends attended the service, the family reunion potluck lunch right afterwards and later in the afternoon, a get-together for those who could make it at what used to be our parents' home throughout their marriage and is now the home of one of my nieces, my Godchild, Madeline (aka Ming).
Four of the grandchildren shared memories of their grandparents and spontaneously, an ex-daughter in law, a long time family friend and many of our cousins stood to share their own favorite moments and memories.
It was a bittersweet ocassion but we also were able to laugh when we heard some of the things shared.... The memories shared were so typical of our parents that we all felt happiness at sharing our parents' lives with everyone present.
The family reunion was so much fun we hope to meet again and the plans are afoot for Christmas in Hawaii in 2011!
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Comments: 20
What a beautiful event. It made me teary-eyed. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for the comments....it was a happy-sad occasion for all of us, but the happy reunions took care of the sad moments.... I can't wait to start planning our Christmas in Hawaii for two years from now...
The airline managed to lose my luggage at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport - even though I had a 3 hour delay there!!! Finally got it the next evening delivered to my front door.... ;-)
It was a wonderful celebration and a great family reunion.
What a beautiful way to remember and honor the people that we so love. It must be wonderful to have a large family to share it all with - the memories...
Glad you're back though,
Marilyn
I love living where I do but I do have one regret and that is that my family is all so far away. It makes it doubly special when I can be with them. The memorial service for our parents and the following pot-luck family reunion and later informal get-together was a wonderful way to get to see and visit family and friends I hadn't seen in many, many years!