A Wonderful Family Reunion

Here’s hoping that all my readers had a happy, safe and brightly-lit Independence Day this year! Ours was particularly great, with Grandson #2 (two months younger than #1), his Mom and soon-to-be official Stepdad and 15-year old sister we’ve only met once before. Other guests were at a minimum, which allowed us to just hang out together, tell stories and talk about ’stuff’, hike on the Mount Mitchell Trail a bit, and break in my brand new deck.

We hadn’t seen grandson Michael for four years, which is way too long! Last time he was here - for the 4th of July - he got bitten by a copperhead on day-1 and had to spend the next three days in the hospital. Not much of a birthday vacation! Luckily, copperheads have thus far been absent this year (knock on wood), so Mike and I were able to spend good time together picking blackberries and making cobbler, accumulating lots of thorn pricks and scratches in the process. We only looked slightly war-weary by the time the cobbler was done, badges of honor around here!

He’s grown into a fine young man (18 now). Very good-looking, with our son’s high forehead threatening to turn into Ben Franklin by the time he’s 30. Runs in the male side of my family strongly - Dad always grew one side long and brushed it over his bald pate, which is the silliest hairdo anybody ever invented! I figure Mike will brave it with a full Ben Franklin when the time comes. Or maybe imitate Grandpa, who shaves his head even though he does have more hair than anybody needs. He’s turned out sweet and thoughtful, bright and talented without our help, so I was sure to compliment Mom on her good job.

His father - our son - died when Mike was just two. It hasn’t been a very easy life for any of them, and I am once again very glad that for them things seem to have worked out well anyway. The teenagers built a lovely slip-n-slide down the garden out-terraces with plastic tarps and a hose, had a wonderful time getting themselves bruised as well as wet. They brought us some rain from Florida, which we desperately needed, then got to watch our neighbors’ big fireworks display on Saturday night from the geyser at the creek. Played several rounds of disc golf, had to pull Stepdad’s handicap early - he’s a natural!

Meanwhile, #1 grandson Jahsh who has always lived with us and has at least twice the hair anybody needs, has decided to do dreadlocks. Yet another Veteran of Foreign Hairdos, which, given his long, not-curly tresses, is a ‘do that doesn’t come easy (though he’ll look pretty darned cool). The photo up top is of him heading out for the prom in May as a pirate, nobody was surprised. His girlfriend did make a very lovely mermaid!

Jahsh and our daughter are heading to Florida later this month for an extended stay, he’ll start college in January instead of August. His father (whom we hadn’t seen in five years) did make it for graduation, and has offered him a job at his comic book/toy store. I figure it’ll do him good to learn how to work for a living, though I doubt he’s going to learn much other than how cool it is to be the boss’s son…

Which, when all is said and done, will leave my Chia-Hubby and I here all on our lonesome for our 39th anniversary in September. My sister and her husband will be moving into their log McMansion nearby next month, so we’ll have some family close by, maybe she and I will finally get down to planning that Materia Medica herbal book we’ve been planning for the last 40 years to write.

Hope that your summer is going as swimmingly as mine, that your grandchildren don’t drive you crazy, and that everyone goes forward to remember 2008 as one of the best years of their lives!

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Filed under Grandchild Visits, Family Gatherings, Holidays, Older Children, Family Life |