A Sibling Reunion...

Last week my brother Glen and I reunited with our half sister Amy - after thirty-nine years!

Gail, Glen and Amy ~ July 18, 2010

We lost touch with each other due to circumstances not of our making and our various efforts to locate one another hit obstacles time and time again.  Then a little over a year ago I hit paydirt.  After a number of letters and phone calls between Pennsylvania and North Carolina getting us all  reacquainted, Glen and I hatched a plan for the three of us to get together, presented it to Amy, and our reunion was born.

We spent four days together at my house near the beach.  We talked a lot, ate a lot, did a little sightseeing and talked some more.  We discovered various characteristics of our parents and grandparents in each other and retold story after story of our childhood experiences.  We probably spent more time reminiscing than we did talking about the missed years!

When they retired twenty years ago, Mom and Dad gave me their dining room set and it was a really great moment when we realized that we three were sitting around the same table where we ate dinner together so many times as kids!  Seems no matter what our differences today, the bond created growing up together is what binds us together now.

Amy met some of her nieces and nephews for the first time last week and I am planning to visit my niece and meet my nephews next month.  Our family is a little larger now and we won't lose touch again.

Cousins...

Forty-eight hours after we got home from Michigan, my brother Ken arrived for a week long visit...Ken, my nephew Matt - nineteen and a sophomore at UNC-CH, my niece Ciera - six and a half and a proud first-grader, and Chase the Beagle!  They visit every summer, ostensibly to see me, but I often think the proximity of the beach adds to my natural magnetism!

We had a great time!  Frequent get-togethers with Rebecca's family, lots of beach time - I enjoyed seeing everyone and Ed cooked up some great food, but I think I enjoyed watching the little cousins the most.

Ciera and Katie

Ciera and my granddaughter Katie - also six - were inseparable.  Three and a half year old Jackson adores his sister and quickly added Ciera to his worship list.  They played together, ate together, swam together and even slept together!  The love among them was palpable and the goodbyes were bittersweet.  It did my heart good to watch them! 

The Michigan Road Trip...

Our few days in Michigan were packed full.  We stayed in Kalamazoo with Ed's sister Maryann and her family.  Maryann's skill as a hostess is exceded only by her fabulous cooking and we were made to feel very much at home.

The wedding of Ed's niece, which was the catalyst for our trip, was lovely.  Five of Ed's six siblings were there, as well as spouses, children, cousins, friends...  I met more people than I can possibly remember!

Family Reunion

The next day we had breakfast with Tim's grandmother, Pat...an interesting and elegant lady; followed later by a spaghetti and meatball dinner at Maryann's - with more family.

The long-awaited family reunion took place our final day there.  More good food, more relatives, lots of photos and some games...I even made the Scavenger Hunt List!

We left early the next morning and headed to Bluefield, West Virginia to see my son Michael.  We arrived about dinner time and tried to get a room in the only hotel...with no luck.  There were plenty of rooms available, but the computer system was down and the clerk said she could not rent us a room without the computer or the manager...and the manager was no where to be found!!  I booked a room in the next town - over the mountain about forty minutes away - and enjoyed an all too short visit with Michael.  The next day it was back to Wilmington...stopping in Greensboro for lunch with my brother Glen on the way.

It was a good trip.  I love my family but always wished it was larger because I thought having a big family would be so cool...and Ed's did not disappoint me! 

Welcome to Ohio?

This has been a month of travel and visitors...and it's been both exciting and exhausting!

Took a road trip to Michigan in June.  Added two states to my list of "States I've Been To"...went to a wedding and a family reunion...met, literally, dozens of Ed's relatives...visited my son in West Virginia...  It was a busy seven days!

We made the drive up in two days...stopping the first night just over the border into Ohio, in Athens, home to Ohio University.  As we first entered Ohio we decided it was time for a pit stop, so Ed pulled into a rest area.  Imagine my surprise when I entered the ladies' and found ...two open latrines!  Welcome to Ohio???

It was about 6 when we reached Athens.  The local Holiday Inn Express was booked up.  Fortunately the only other hotel in town had a non-smoking room available  The cycling group in town that filled the rooms also created long waits at the usual chain restaurants.  We ended up eating less than mediocre Mexican food.  After a good night's sleep, we got back on the road.

Reached Ann Arbor in time to have lunch with Ed's son, Tim.  And what a lunch!  The Jeruselem Garden in Ann Arbor is fantastic and the hummus...well I'm craving it just writing about it!  Another couple of hours to Battle Creek to visit with Ed's sister, Fran and meet up with brother Mike, just in from Florida.  Then on to Kalamazoo, his sister Mary Ann and a real Michigan welcome!