Dear Luke and Zoey (Family Reunion Edition)

One of the first family reunions I remember. I'm in the middle with my arms crossed, cousins Barbie and Mike to the left in the picture. David, June and Judy are top row left and my Uncle Allan is between Mike and Barbie. Connecticut circa late 1970s.

Dear Luke and Zoey,

Last weekend, we had a small family reunion, the "Colorado Relatives." My mom and her brothers and sister grew up in North Haven, Connecticut, but three of the five siblings made their way out to Colorado as young adults. These were the aunts and uncles and cousins your mama spent lots of time with growing up--"just because" visits, and also Fourth of Julys and Thanksgivings and Christmases. They were all so excited to meet you!

You're too young now to remember the stories I tell you, but I have so many stories about all of these people.

Like my Uncle David, who has a Ph.D. in Forestry from Yale, and has for many years lived in and managed his own little forest. I'd tell you about my first memories of him, when he was living in a teepee and had a hole in the ground with a block of ice for a refrigerator. I'd tell you how he'd take me backpacking and cross country skiing, teaching me things like how to feel my way along a trail in the dark, and how to use an avalanche beacon. 

I'd tell you about his daughter, Juniper, a tiny little sprite of a girl in my mind...still so hard to picture her as a grownup. So smart. So like her dad. Her son is 8, and was with us this weekend.

I'd tell you about my cousin Barbie, how as girls at night we'd lay in sleeping bags in each others rooms during visits, laughing and talking about everything under the sun. Her son, who was also with us this weekend, is now 20. She had him at the beginning of her reproductive years, I had you guys towards the end...so crazy that we're the same age and yet there are so many years between our children.

And Barbie's mom, my Aunt Judy, who was always so kind to me, who gave us sweet tea and watermelon when we visited in the summer, turkey and yummy casseroles during the winter holidays. She sang, and going to see her was my first exposure to opera. I'd tell you how one year, I made her an art project out of a board and nails and yarn, and she had it hanging in her kitchen for years and years and years. 

I'd tell you about her husband, my Uncle Allan, who died last year. How he let me use his dark room when I was very young, that chemical smell, no one's ever going to know anymore what with digital photography. He took my interest in photography so seriously.

And I'd tell you about their son, Mike, who was killed in an accident just before he became a teenager. He was a few years older than me. I looked up to him. He used to do magic tricks, and I still have some of his props in my trunk, given to me by my aunt after his death, all these many years later. I was eight or nine when he died, and remember my mother being suddenly gone to be with them, and my dad sitting on the couch, sobbing and sobbing. I still carry Mike, and now his Daddy, with me in my heart.

This family reunion, it was full of croquet and Pictionary, delicious meals, long chats, a folk band on the lawn at a local winery, the moon fat and full, the night warm. It was so lovely to be able to introduce you to these aunts and uncles and cousins, people who have been such a big and sweet and supportive and caring part of my life. I so hope you are able to spend time with them as you grow. 

I'll keep the memories of this weekend alive for you...

Love,

Your Mama