Family Reunions

Heya KoonTan, nice to meet you. Chinese New Year family reunions sound cool! At least you get envelopes of money from grandparents, that's a little different. Our grandparents gave us money tucked in books for Christmas and birthdays. I actually liked that, because I was a dedicated bookworm, still am. But it's always nice to to hear neat stories about your grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles as kids, learn the old recipes and see who you look like. My mom didn't look like the rest of her family until we went to her grandmother's reunion, where everybody there looked just like her. It's a fun experience.

Hello, Ariel, how's your day shaping up? I hadn't thought about how family reunions and recipes might be for other cultures, like Asian. That would be pretty cool. It reminds me of when I once went to a potluck with mostly Caucasian American elders. Everything besides dessert was a casserole, which I was also supposed to bring. Instead of the usual soup and rice or noodles, I went to a Chinese restaurant and had them put a catering size portion of a dish with vegetables and noodles in my casserole dish. I took it to the potluck and everyone loved it. When they asked me for the recipe, I simply said, "family secret."

Hello, airasheila, nice to see you again. You are right. Even just a simple gathering at a quiet restaurant can be a true family reunion, yielding all the experiences we want, and memories for a lifetime. It's also great, because kids can get the foods they want, and anyone with special needs, like diabetics, can also get the right menu. This can make for a better time had by all.

Hi, Dominique, and thanks for commenting on this convo. My family has an unofficial longest distance prize. It's just bragging rights, but it is interesting. We've discovered relatives we never knew existed who ended up having come the farthest distance to be with us.

Hi, intel, great to see you again. You are right. Bonding, traditions and history are all very important parts of knowing ourselves and our families better. There are two younger generations now that I do not know as well as I'd like.

Hi jenetarun, and thanks for your kind response. You are correct, and those are the main things I enjoyed about our family reunions. The time to love and learn from elders was priceless.

Hi, dfollin, and thanks for chiming in. It's great that you got to host for awhile. part of our family used to rotate hosting. And the Elders Meeting includes passing the plate for every family head to pay membership fees, including some costs of hosting, like meats, which must be cooked in advance and can be expensive. And of course utilities costs, for air conditioning, toilet flushing and cleaning.It can really add up if everyone's not doing their part reasonably. When it's not at a family member's home, we usually put the money into renting a public golf course's spacious rural club house. It has spacious rooms, including a private one for the Elders Meeting, generous kitchen space, facilities in good working order and plenty of parking, even for RVs, with trees for shade. We're lucky to have found it and that it fits our budget.

Hello, andak, and thanks for joining in. That's an interesting icon you have. Coconut planters? It's wonderful that you have some nice memories of family reunions to balance out the unfortunate ones. What are some of the foods at your family reunions? The dessert menu at mine usually includes standards of Crispy Rice Treats, Chocolate and Banana Puddings and Lemon Meringue and Pecan Pies. My grandmother was famous for her Lemon Chiffon Cake.

Hi ShyBear, and thanks for chiming in. My family has had their share of reunion drama, as well. Our elders have had their share of being entertained and embarrassed by some of the younger relations' less than stellar choices. It's all part of the memories now. Today's reunions with my family are less dramatic and more about being together. Sorry to hear the economy is influencing your decision. The good times are worth it. Maybe you could rent the family reunions movie with Madea in them. One is Johnson Family Vacation/Reunion, the other Madea's Family Reunion. Rib ticklers both.

Hello, xiaohong, and thank you for joining in. Thank you also for the kind compliment. Our reunions are very country, usually. Some of the older ladies dress up a bit. Most just do their hair and dress casually now, due to the heat. We might set up in someone's porch on a farm, at a wooded public golf center's club house or at a church beside one of our family's cemeteries. There's lots of food! Someone coordinates the menu, calling all the ladies to see what they're bringing, to make sure there's enough of everything but not too much of any one flavor. The best part of the menu is the vegetables, because many relatives are farmers and gardeners and grow their own, then cook them with these old recipes that have been handed down for so many years. There are all kinds of beans, greens, tomatoes, potatoes and so on. These are dishes my family grew and ate on their farms back in the 1800s, 1700s and possibly back in Europe, in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. It's truly an amazing thing to look at your food and realize this.

Hi doroffee, and thanks for joining in. That's too bad that your family isn't more enjoyable to be around. Maybe you could create a family reunion of your family of choice: friends that mean a lot to you and their spouses and children. Some people do that these days.

Hello again, Raine, nice to see you. It's too bad that you're so far from your family for so long. Thank goodness for technology, eh? What traditions do you miss?

Hello again, maria, nice to see you. I never thought about family reunions in other countries. I've only heard of them here in the States. That's too bad that your family doesn't celebrate together in Mexico. I agree that you should try to swing around and see them before moving back this summer. Best wishes!

Hello, Olivia, and thanks for your reply. Our reunions take place in Spring and Summer. We have Spring reunions at someone's home or a public golf club, as well as Summertime cemetery "homecomings" (another word for reunion) at two little country churches. Glad to hear you will be seeing your family and are looking forward to it.

Yes, dawnald, you are right. Families get scattered by jobs, caregiving and home prices, among other things. Hopefully, people will become interested in and able to attend family reunions once more. Movies like the Johnson's Family Vacation do a great job of depicting the purpose of family reunions.

Hello, ZoeJoy, and thank you for responding. It's great that your parents kept the family together. Their anniversary is a great opportunity to celebrate the family and bring them together once again. It's awesome that you're doing your part with the family archives and sharing them and keeping in touch. Best wishes on your projects!