Family ties

This past weekend, our maternal family held a long awaited reunion down in Dayton, OH. Originally planned by late cousin Terry Harper, its organization was pulled together by cousin Jill Harper-Collett and even though not as many people were able to make it as originally hoped, still, we had a grand time with those who did come. Present were: Uncle Ed Harper and spouse Joan, parents of late cousin Terry, their daughter-in-law Lee Ann Harper and her sons Dale and Jace; Uncle Michael Harper and spouse Aunt Marian and their five children Margaret Ann Dorson-King, Marilyn Orr and her husband John and their children whose names I don't remember, Michael Harper and his children, again, whose names I don't recall, Andy Harper and his spouse Robin and their three children and Jill Harper-Collett, a newlywed, and her spouse Brian and her three children from a previous marriage; cousin Mark Walker, all the way from Reno, NV; cousin Paul Harper from Cincinnati and his wife Cecilee and their three children; cousin Amy Harper and her significant other Conrad, and our family, my mom, my sister Emily and daughters Katina and Elena, and me. My sister informed me that all told, among three generations of Harpers, there number 110, so if everyone had come, it would have been quite the gathering, but as it was, those of us who were there had a fantastic time reuniting with one another, talking, laughing, catching up and getting to know one another better and enjoying each other's company. As evening fell and most of the guests left, a few of us cousins stayed behind at the park shelter where we held the reunion and cracked open a bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon, favorite drink of our late cousin Terry, and toasted his memory. We managed to empty the entire bottle and then after dark, we retreated to our Uncle Mike and Aunt Marian's house to continue the festivities until fatigue got the better of us and we returned to our hotel. The next morning, we all met at the hotel restaurant for breakfast and to say our farewells. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend of reuniting with relatives, some of whom I had not seen in many long years. The hope is that we will have another reunion again, perhaps next year. Some are calling for it to be held out west so that more of our western relatives can attend, but Ohio seemed a good central location for it to be held, so maybe we can find a good place within easy travel distance for as many of us as possible. In any case, I do hope that we do this again. I had a blast, and it made me realize the importance of family and staying connected. Harpers and kinfolk, let's do this again!