My Summer Family Reunions

By Blair Berry

No stronger bond exists than the one between a family. While they are far from perfect and can sometimes be annoying, I always love my family. And I think it would be a more than accurate assessment to say that the love is always reciprocated.

I’ve experienced some of the funniest, most embarrassing and most heartbreaking moments of my life with family, and they have been there for me every step of the way. As much as I love the presence of my family, I don’t always get to see the extended members as often as I’d like to. Busy schedules and multiple relatives scattered across the country make it difficult to get together. Little do I despair, though, because I can always count on family reunions to provide plenty of time to catch up and have fun with the relatives I rarely see, while also reinforcing the whole idea of strong family relationships.

Family reunions have played an influential role in my life ever since I can remember, especially considering they take place on both my maternal and paternal side. Both reunions occur every other year in the summer, with typically a different location each time. They usually last three to four days and consist of a scheduled sequence of events and activities we participate in throughout the course of our stay. Each reunion has led to a new discovery, new favorite places, and new perspectives on life. And who better to enjoy these eye-opening experiences with than my family? I can remember being overcome with excitement to ride a plane for the first time on a trip to California for a family reunion when I was five. Let’s just say that I don’t particularly care for plane rides anymore, but the reunion was great! A casual stroll down Hollywood Boulevard, an unmanageable amount of sand and saltwater in my hair, and a swollen eye from getting hit with a football one of my cousins threw, all made the California reunion one to cherish (despite the injury)!

Fast forward a couple of years and a few thousand miles to Kansas City, Kansas, for another fun-filled family reunion, this time without the plane ride and swollen eye! It was in Kansas where I learned I could dance for the first time, or at least I thought I could! Either way, I received a standing ovation from relatives at our family banquet for being brave enough to dance to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” with no one else to be my backup. I guess you could say I was the single lady on the dance floor! The Kansas reunion revealed a side of me I never even knew existed, and I suppose each reunion holds a piece of the unfinished puzzle that is my life.

Last summer I enjoyed the food and history of Memphis and loved recreating with family members through tennis matches and pool parties. This summer I’ll explore the French Quarter and see all of what New Orleans has to offer at my mom’s family reunion; then we’ll head to Monroe, Louisiana, for my dad’s family reunion. I’m ecstatic about both of them, and hope they have just as much to offer if not more than the other reunions. One thing’s for sure, though, regardless of what happens, I’ll always have my family with me to ensure that there is never a dull moment.