Family Reunion

The family reunion for my dad’s side of the family happened over the weekend. I left work and went to Penn Station to catch a train down to my parents’ house, where Bevinn, Rob, and their kids had just arrived to spend the night before heading down to Deleware the next day for the reunion itself. My Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dan had also just flown in from California (I hadn’t seen them in a couple of years) and Ann and Ray (my dad’s cousins) were also there for dinner. So it was a full house.

Though I hadn’t seen the adults in at least a year, I was definitely more eager to hang out with the kids: Erica – 8; Kelsey – 10…almost 11!!; and Colin – 12 (I've changed the names). One of the highlights from last year for me was being the “monster”. Erica was on my shoulders, Kelsey was holding onto one leg, and Tyler (who I’d see on Saturday) was grabbing onto the other. They made me walk around the lawn, Erica directing me by twisting my head violently. When I made her get down she called me “just a dirty smelly old man.”

This year I wasn’t the monster, but I was the one who had to cut up their food for them and clean up two lemonade spills in addition to playing many, many games of hot potato. We also played a game of soccer in the front yard – me, Colin, and my neighbor Joel on one side and Ben and the two girls on the other.

Colin naturally wanted to humiliate his sisters, but the two of them were able to play him pretty evenly. Joel, who’s 19, mind you, also wanted to beat the girls. He trash talked them, deeked them pretty harshly, and tried his best to pound them into the ground. Imagine a 19 year old guy screaming “YEAH! DOMINATION!” as he high-steps across the front lawn after just having juked an 8 year old girl and scored a goal. At one point one of the girls told him “you brag too much.”

If Joel and Colin had had their way, I’m sure we would have beaten Ben and the two girls really badly. But I felt bad, and did my best to let them win – and they did, 11-9. When Colin and I were paired on the same team the next day, his first words to me were “so are you gonna play defense this time?”

Before they went to bed, Erica and Kelsey stole Ben and my phones and changed the wallpaper to photos of themselves with the text "Erica rocks" and "Kelsey rocks." Maybe people will think it's strange that I have a picture of a 10 (almost 11) year old girl on my phone, but I thought the gesture was very sweet and it makes me laugh when I look at it.

The next day, Saturday, with my girlfriend in tow, we all arrived down at Bellevue State Park in Delaware. It was normal family reunion fare – lots of food, bland pasta salad, name tags, and a few awkward conversations. My brother noted that we aren’t the oldest kids any longer. We’ve been upgraded to the “young adult” category, but even so I mostly hung out with the kids.

Ben, Alice (the girlfriend, name also changed) and I took Tyler, who's 2 years old, climbing on the jungle gym. I met another kid there who told me “If all the geese in the world attacked right now, I’d run to the car and lock the doors real quick.” Tyler posed on top of the rock wall while my Dad took pictures, and then ordered my brother and I to kiss before he came down (we didn’t). He then proceeded to kill me a few times while pretending to be a pirate. Once, Alice asked him to revive me and he reluctantly agreed. Then he started ordering Alice to kiss me, which she was happy to do.

As the reunion died down, both Erica and Kelsey hugged me (without prompting from their parents) and said goodbye. Colin, hugged me awkwardly. Tyler kept saying “I wub you”, and high fived me goodbye. I also said goodbye to Britney, Tyler's sister, who is probably the most down to earth, “with it” 8 year old I’ve ever met.

Being around young family members is really fun and refreshing. I get all the fun and almost none of the responsibility, and the parents get a few hours without having to worry about their kids’ whereabouts. I hope to see them before next year, and now that I live in NYC I think there’s a real chance of that. Because even now I notice that they grow up a lot from one year to the next.