Family Schamily

Just came home from our annual fall family gathering where we gather at State Farm Park in Bloomington Illinois to eat and greet. I am the oldest of 6 kids. One died in childhood but the rest of us went on to terrorize our neighbors, co-workers and best of all, each other.

I have no pictures of said event as I MADE myself leave the camera at home. It interferes at times with real communication and observation. Beside with other 6000 pics on my computer at this moment I think a few missed shots won't matter.

We grill several pounds of meat, share salads, desserts, drinks and then play miniature golf, volleyball, and basketball.

We stink as a whole at most of the sports which makes it all the more entertaining. About half of us are under 20 and the rest are over 40. A couple of stragglers fall in between. The old mock the young and the young step over the old when we fall down attempting to do something ridiculous like serving the volleyball.

Each year I am reminded how fortunate I am to have such a family. The five of us siblings have reproduced or married into a total of 13 children. One of those now has 3 children (my grand kids), soon a nephew will leave for the Marines and so it goes. Families expand and grow and sometimes move away. At our gatherings there really is no forbidden topics of conversation. We DO talk about religion (we have Christians, atheists, agnostics and those still undecided) and politics, (most of us are strongly conservative and at least mildly so) and we discuss finance, world peace and why the cheap hot dogs can be very good when enough sauerkraut and ketchup is slathered upon them.

At the end of the day I drive home while two GK's and one hard working farmer husband fall asleep leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Never a good thing.

The perfect end to a perfect day is revealed in my kitchen window. I hope your weekend was super as well.