This month my co-host and I decided to focus on relationships. This topic is usually so easy for me. While I don’t have a perfect life I have been abundantly blessed with people who love me and have always had my best interests at heart. This year writing about relationships is a bit challenging as I have hit some bumps in the road in relationships that in the past were most dear to me. Ever the professional, I shoulder on.
I have mentioned in the past that every two years my siblings and I have a sibling reunion. We choose a location and find accommodations which allows us (spouses, children, grandchildren, etc) to all stay in the same house for a week. When I tell people about this I get mixed reactions. Some immediately shake their heads from side to side, saying “No, I would not want to do that.” They say they love their families but that’s too close and the length of the stay is too long. Recently when I shared details of the trip with a friend she said that disagreements and fights would break out in the house if her family stayed together. I told her we didn’t have one disagreement and that I really didn’t sense any tension among us in the house. (Well, its not totally true that there weren’t any disagreements. When you have young kids who are very excited to see everyone, are on a less restrictive schedule [and are full of sugar from all the readily available treats] minor conflicts will happen!)
When I tell others about our reunion, some break out into a wide smile and say they really wish they could do something similar in their families. I assure them that they can. It just takes patience, planning and compromise. For example, my husband Nashid and I would really prefer to do three or four nights and wrap up the reunion. However, the majority of my family consistently prefers a full week. I state my preference, the group hears it, an informal vote is made and I always lose. Every time. I am totally ok with that.
While Nashid and I always have the option of cutting the time short and leaving early, we never do. Once I arrive time seems to fly by! My niece Ore does an amazing job planning the week for us. You can be as busy or as lazy as you prefer. When I get the reunion itinerary I mentally make a list of what I will do and what I will skip. Again, once I get there, I find myself participating in everything.
In our family we have already lost my oldest brother Henry and my oldest sister Bertha. (Two siblings who are alive chose not to attend for various reasons. Remember I said we aren’t perfect.) Our last reunion was held in 2022. My first cousin Renaye and her family attended. Renaye was very much like a sibling to us. She passed last year. During the reunion we remember the ones who have died by having a moment of silence and lighting a candle in their honor. It’s a sobering thought but one day they will be calling my name and lighting a candle to remember me. While it is a sobering thought, my greatest honor is that they will in fact do that. That will mean the family has kept our tradition; the Browns remain strong and committed to the legacy left by my mom and dad. That warms my heart and makes me smile.
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