Family Time

We had a slow start to our day before getting on the road.  Relatives of Ron were on their way through to the maritimes and were stopping at Mike and Ellen’s for a visit.  Mike is Ron’s second cousin.  We drove to Prescott and pulled into their driveway.  We hadn’t been to this home before and it was a beautiful property along the St. Lawrence River.

We spent the next few hours reconnecting, meeting and waiting for others to arrive.  It had been a long time since I had seen everyone.  Ron had seen some at his mom’s funeral in 2022.  Once everyone had arrived, there were 16 of us ranging in age from about two to ninety-two.

There was a lot of catching up. Phones came out often to show pictures of a story that was being told.  Questions were asked about other family members and memories were shared of years gone by.

Around 5:00, the barbeque was started and the men took care of the burgers.  

The ladies brought out the salads and fixings and within a few minutes a feast was ready.

The visiting continued around bites, going back for seconds and sitting back contented.  Cake came out for a few birthday people and then the question was asked…chocolate or white?  

Just before 8:00, we said our goodbyes and gave and received hugs.  We promised it wouldn’t be so long before we did this again.  

It was a really nice day and very special to be with family.

Reconnecting

There are some friends that seem like relatives and some relatives that are friends.  Growing up, I had lots of cousins around and I loved that I had so many.  I especially loved having some that were also my friends.  One of them was Dana.  My mom came from a family of thirteen siblings.  She was the third youngest.  She had 10 older brothers and sisters and two younger brothers.  The brother that was closest to her in age had 3 girls just like my family.  Dana and I were close in age and also the middle children.  We spent a lot of time together as young girls.

Years passed and we went our separate ways and only followed each other through family updates and later Facebook.  In 1999, while going through Georgia, we stopped and had a little visit.  We may have seen each other since then but I’m not sure.

Now that we are living in Tamworth and she came “home” for a family wedding, Dana and Mark came for an evening visit.  Our front porch was full of conversation, catching up, reminiscing and leaning about each other’s journeys.  When the mosquitoes pushed us inside, the chatting continued.  Ron and Mark enjoyed a game of pool and darts and Dana, Sarah and I continued to talk.

It was a lovely evening and I’m so glad that Dana found the time to reconnect.  They are hoping to sell in Atlanta and move to Tampa…another great place to have a visit!

Ron wanted to share a little taste of our “Frizzell” syrup from this year and Dana approved of the taste!

Philip…another taste test has been approved.