For a week at the end of July there was a mini family reunion thing going on here. It was all tentatively planned a year prior at my cousin Dan's funeral and set to coincide with my Aunt's 83rd birthday. I could go into exactly who all was there and how they're related to whom, but it wouldn't really mean anything to anyone else, so I won't bore with those details. Suffice to say that people traveled from Alabama, Ohio, California, Virginia, and Maryland.
Everyone stayed at various homes clustered right here (and there was massive cleaning and organizing to be done in the weeks leading up to it in preparation... well, at my home at least). I had the pleasure of having Dan's daughter and (blended) family stay with me. Here they are...
It's one of those "yours, mine, and ours" situations. That's Dan's daughter Deena standing next to her husband (naturally) and holding their daughter who was born a little more than a year ago just a few days before Dan passed away. Behind them is Deena's son and to the far right her youngest daughter, both from her previous marriage. In the "boobies rule" shirt is Deena's husband's daughter from his previous marriage. (Unable to make the trip and also from the previous marriages were Deena's other daughter and her husband's son.)
While here, they and various others planned a few day trips, including one to Philadelphia (for some historical sightseeing), one to New York City (more for the general urban spectacle and fun), and one to the Jersey shore (Long Beach Island, but not the Barnegat lighthouse, just the beach). I did not go along on the city trips, I just went to the beach with them.
Unfortunately toward the end of the NY trip a sickness began to emerge (quite literally, if you get my drift... enough said). At first they suspected food poisoning from a chain restaurant they ate dinner at, but soon it was evident that others who didn't even make the trip were also coming down with the same illness. Pretty much everyone got it, though it varied in degree of severity as it spread. I ended up with the mild version (which was quite bad enough, thank you). It ended up causing a one day delay to my Aunt's birthday party and the celebration was more subdued, but still... fun was had.
The following pic was taken by Deena's husband and I want to share it here because when I saw it I was simply amazed at the image. I have no idea if he planned it in any way on the spur of the moment or if it just magically happened, but the placement of the lone wispy cloud makes it appear as if Lady Liberty's torch is actually lit and burning...
As a very minor footnote to the whole story, I have the added bonus of now being able to tell people how great it was having two pretty teenage girls share my bed for a week.
...What??? I didn't say they were sharing it with me, did I? That would be so very wrong! I can't help it if folks get certain inappropriate ideas, can I??? (Of course it probably doesn't help when I happen to be playing "Cousin Dupree" as I tell that story... Heh Heh.)
8^o
Seriously, though, they're a fun bunch and I really enjoyed their company for the week (also learning to play a card game known as "Phase 10").
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1 comment:
This post brings much happiness to me. Glad you all got together and (minus the communal illness) had a great time.
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