Family Reunion

Time flies - the birds at work are all flying now and hardly ever in the nest (though I caught them there Tuesday).We had our 57th annual Jasper Family reunion the weekend of July 4th-6th. The first few years the reunion was around Thanksgiving or Christmas, but Great-grandpa Jasper's birthday was July 2nd, so his four daughters (my grandmother is the youngest) started getting together every year around the 4th of July. It's a big deal and very important for everyone to make it. With a few people as exceptions, health reasons are pretty much the only thing that keep some people from coming.

my immediate family

I really, really wish I had time to write about a LOT going on lately, and particularly about the reunion, and it's also important to Joe and I to keep a record of things happening, even in the busy times... but I just don't know how to do that. Maybe if I had a tape recorder and record while traveling on the road lately, then I could do podcasts. Oh well. So I'll pick one thing to say about the reunion.

My favorite part about the reunion is the lack of personal space for an entire 3-day weekend. First, we stayed in a cabin with my parents, sister (L), and brother-in-law (K). We were all sharing one bathroom and Joe and I shared a room with Lauren and Kevin while my parents slept in the living room. We ate most meals with the whole big group (almost 50 this year - actually less than normal). Three of the four original sisters had lot of kids and grandkids and great-grandkids, so those three families take turns hosting (including a LOT of cooking). So we're on a three year rotation. The year you host is a lot of work and you don't have near as much time to visit, but it's worthwhile. Anyway, so you eat with everyone. In line and at the tables, it seems like people are often sitting closer than is normally appropriate. If you ask what someone is drinking, they will hand it to you for you to try it (I would say drinking after someone else is a different level of intimacy that you don't share with the majority of people you interact with). (I'm just reminded of how nice blogs are - I'm just going to leave that "with" dangling at the end of the sentence and no one can make me fix it!) Anyway, I love how my space feels so invaded by people who love me for three days every year!

my cousin Laura (who will always be Laurabeth to me) is pregnant!

We have a church camp every year that is similar in a lot of ways (though never as much work while you're there since others cook - but I have to admit, the food's not as good). But there are a few differences...

(1) At church camp there are unfortunately not as many older people (something we're praying changes soon) but there are more little kids.

(2) I'm still a little more awkward at camp. I shouldn't be, but I often find myself wandering around the grounds trying to figure out where people are or what conversations are less weird to interrupt slightly by joining. We have a lot less space everyone is crammed into for the family reunions, so I bet that accounts for the wandering around. I think at both I'm awkward in trying to spend time talking with people I don't often get a chance to talk to and other people who are more shy (if that's the right word) and don't instigate conversation even though they really want to talk with someone (it seems like I can easily spend the majority of the time with this personality type - maybe because I'm more like them in some ways?)

(3) This one is pretty big in my mind - at church camp it seems like people (naturally, not because we're told to or have separate swim times or something like in junior high) divide along gender lines most of the time. For the most part, I think this is good for protecting marriages, but when I'm at the family reunions I really enjoy being able to sit down and talk with some of the guys... I bet a big part of liking that is because I have a lot more in common with some of them in ways of thinking /education-/ work-wise. I guess at a family reunion you already have a set relationship with a cousin you grew up with and don't actually have to worry about starting an inappropriate relationship. So even though it's not a complaint against church camp (in so many ways a real family to me), I do miss the more relaxed / safe man-woman relationships. Maybe as we get closer friends at our church this will change some... maybe not, it's one of the many life-issues I don't understand! (Hmmm... I promise this point made sense in my head, sorry if it doesn't make sense here!)

(4) I get to play some REAL games at the family reunions! I'm sorry friends, but speed scrabble is for people like Joe who got a letter jacket in high school for UIL spelling. Family reunions are full of spades and 42, both games I enjoy. I beat up on a couple of college guys in a game of spades at church camp last year, so I might have to push for that again. All joking aside, I AM really glad Joe gets to play some games he like (disc golf, too) and is good at - we don't get ton of chances for that sort of thing.

Well, I stayed home from Joe's soccer game to nap, so I better go do that. We just came back from Houston, where we attended Joe's 10 year high school reunion. More on that later, but it did amount to staying up too late last night. Also, if I haven't already posted, I'm pretty sure that our closing date on our new home will be July 22nd - just around the corner!