Summer, for many, can be the time for longer days and slower paces, heat and holidays, trips and travels, and family reunions. It can also be weeks of hopeless tedium (for the kids), added stress (for the parents, especially moms), and family reunions.
So, guess what today's topic is going to be?
So far, my summer has been marked by almost all of the above, at least on the positive side of the ledger, and just recently, I was able to take those living at home to join my wife's relatives for a family reunion.
As usual, it was held in Terrace, BC, the town between the two "princes" (Prince Rupert and Prince George), at the west end of Highway 16 in British Columbia. Terrace is also west of Houston, not to be confused with Houston, Texas.
If a writing of this were a classic tale, I will have called it "The Prince and the Pauper": By the time we shelled out all the bucks for food, gas, motel rooms, and cabin rentals, you might say we were the pauper and Rupert and George were the princes.
I should add quickly, by the way, that it was worth every penny.
On the way over and back, we saw a grizzly bear, lots of black bears (one with three cubs), a moose, and some bighorn sheep, and some tourists from Texas. Travellers tip: If you see a bunch of cars parked along the side of the road, it's either a mega bathroom break or they have stopped to stare at one of the above—well, maybe not the tourists from Texas.
Part of the reason for any reunion is it's good to keep in touch in person; social media, with its electronic tentacles wrapped around us so much these days, doesn't quite cut it, compared to face-to-face connections. This happened repeatedly on the shore of Lakelse Lake.
My wife is the eldest of five sisters and all but one of them made it She was tied up finishing her teaching year in Victoria and was unavailable. The attendees included the respective husbands and kids. It was "Cousins-R-Us" everywhere.
This reunion was a little different because most the kids now are young adults--and working young adults, at that. They had to fight to get a few days off. The only actual little kids this time were my grandchildren, all seven of them.
Reunions are all about renewing relationships and making memories. We checked off both boxes on this one. There were canoe treks, hikes, volleyball games, a car rally, and lots of food. And what's a family get together without the ubiquitous Frisbee?
My wife was able to secure six cabins right on the lake, so many of us out of town relatives had their own place. It was an invigorating experience to wake up early every morning at the sight of the lake, the sound of the loon, and the sizzle of the bacon, though some of you may not be able to place "invigorating" and "early morning" in the same sentence.
(Actually the bacon came later, but I liked that line's alliteration.)
The other novelty was the way my wife organized brunch (the mid-morning meal for those who had early morning issues. Certain families hosted members from other families, giving everyone an opportunity to hang out with some they may not usually visit with at length. Each day was a little different, with a balanced rotation of who was hosting and who was guesting.
We hosted twice and guested (not a real word, Maurice) once.
Reunions have many purposes, as I have alluded to already, but I suggest anything that
strengthens family relationships is great. As the building blocks for a successful society (read: families) continue to implode, reunions help stem that trend. Pictures on the fridge, emails in the database, and Christmas cards in December, are good and helpful, but nothing beats a leisurely supper by the lake shore.
Not that it's about eating, but families that eat together have a greater chance of staying together,
I think the mosquitoes also had a family reunion at the same time and place, though I have a thing about uninvited guests.
That was the only mosquito, er, fly on the ointment of an otherwise great time in Terrace.
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