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Episode 22: Family Reunions
Some of the best memories of my childhood revolve around family reunions. A family reunion is when every single person in one of your parents entire family comes together and hangs out for a weekend. Basically, like 150 people take over a park or a convention center, and do activities, and eat food and catch up with each other and hang out. The best part about it is that everyone is related. All the kids play together and feel like they are cousins. Every older lady you meet is your Aunty, or your cousin, every man is your uncle, or your cousin. I mean, you pretty much meet every single person you could have ever imagined was related to you all in one day. Family reunions are honestly amazing.
When my sibling and I were kids our parents took us to four or five family reunions that I can remember. I know one of them I don’t really remember, I just know I was there because I’ve seen pictures of myself there as a four or five year old. Another one I remember because it was at this huge park that had what seemed like miles of grass, and big trees to climb, and parks to play on. They rented out the rec room at the park and there was so much good food, barbecue and a thousand potato salads and enough sheet cakes to cover an entire folding table, and that drink that’s just sprite with a sherbet ice cream floating in it.
Another family reunion in Cincinnati Ohio, I remember because it was so so hot. It must have been 102 or 103 and we were at a park again. I ran around all morning playing with my cousins and then during lunch time I remember sitting down at the table and putting my head down in my arms and falling asleep. My Mom found me and woke me up and made me drink cups of water, I’d straight up just passed out from the heat.
The best family reunion I remember took place at a giant man made lake. I was really stuck on the fact that this lake was supposedly man-made. I remember being so shocked to find the pebbles at the bottom were just little pieces of plastic or some kinda astro turf rocks. The best part was my parents bought my sibling and I each a giant water gun. It was like the shotgun of water guns, with the water pumping part where the pump-action would be and we honestly felt invincible. I’m pretty sure we lost those guns by leaving them near the lake and forgetting them by the end of the day though, big regret.