Weekend of Reunions!

Dad loves all his family, but two reunions in two days was a little much for him! The Mabel Pauly Family Reunion (my Dad's Mom's side of the family) was Saturday . For the past 3 years it has been held at the ranch of my sister and her husband, Jean and Jimmie Plentl. They have a wonderful porch on the front of Jimmie's shop that is large enough to accommodate all of us. The weather was hot, but we were blessed with a cool breeze the entire day! Our crowd was smaller than the last few years, but it gave us a chance to visit with each other a little more. The most popular food item had to have been Barbara and Jimmy Haley's tamales from Lufkin! They were the best I'd ever had! Mmmm...I could eat about a half-dozen right now!!! Of course, everything else was delicious! Jean's blackberry cobbler dish was scraped clean!!! We missed the Seigler and Doyle families being there, but you can be assured that I will do a better job of nagging them for next year's gathering!

Everyone was pleased to see how well Mom and Dad looked! Mom has her girlish figure (I'll bet she can fit into her wedding gown that she wore 64 years ago!) and Dad looks healthy as can be! Dad moved around is his wheelchair and made sure he sat in on each group's conversations. I am such a talker that it would be so hard for me to sit and not be able to join in on the conversations. I can only imagine how difficult and frustrating it must be for him. He does seem to make the best of it, though. Proverbs 29:236 says...A man's pride brings him low, but a man of loyalty gains honor I know a lot of honorable men, but none more so than my father. He humbles himself to his situation and makes the best of it rather than hiding from the world. I can't tell you how much I respect him for that. I also hold my Mother in high esteem for her devotion to him..."give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the City gate."

When Dad had gotten in the Suburban to go home, I kissed him and said I'd see him tomorrow! He quizzically looked at me so I reminded him that Sunday was the Goertz Reunion at Rockne! Oh the face he made! He absolutely loves that family, but two reunions two days in a row was a bit much to consider at that point!!! But, without surprise, they were in Rockne in time for the traditional 11:00 Mass in the Parish Hall with the family gathered!

The Goertz Reunion is my Mother's-Mother's-Mother's family! It's my Grandma Grohman's and her siblings' decendants. You won't believe this, but there were about 248 people there, and that's not nearly all of us!!! To say the least, the hall was packed and the food tables were loaded!!! That's the best lunch anywhere! Everyone brings covered dishes and it's some of the best food in this world!!! There's always fresh garden-grown tomatoes, green beans, squash and plenty of sausage and fried chicken!!! Then comes the desserts...unbelievable!!! The food isn't the best part though! It's the love that you feel the minute you walk in the door! We're a happy bunch and we love to kiss and hug! I always leave with my spirit refreshed! We are so blessed to have such wonderful heritage on both sides of our family!

Two reunions in one weekend is a lot, but it's so perfect to get in touch with family members that we don't see throughout the rest of the year and get it all done in one weekend!!! My poor husband Ollie gets "name-overload," who's that and who's she married to and what are their kids' names, but he's such a good sport!!!

So, until we see each of them again, we hold all our family members dearly in our hearts and love them through prayer! "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." ~Proverbs 22:6. Our parents have taught us the love of God and the love of family. What could be more important than that?!!! Amen.