Reunions

    

July is the month of family reunions.  Who, out there, isn’t involved in some form of get-together, whether it’s a giant gathering of all clan members or just a visit from those far away?  Many have looked forward to this for months and others have probably dreaded it a bit; lots of extra work, always eating too much and, of course, the expected and uninvited thread of tension that weaves its way around and through the mingling crowd: the members of the group who have never gotten along very well and only meet this one time each year.  We may pretend that it isn’t there, but it is - snaking its way through the gathering.

     This is the test of our roots – these moments of confrontations and how we handle them.  This is when the instincts and knowledge of our ancestors and their histories is most important. 

     Remember how great-great-great grandmother handled that burglar who invaded their campsite when they were pioneers?  She pulled out the gun given to her by a gambler passing through – payment for a meal – and aimed it at the thieves ordering them to leave.  She had never handled or owned a gun before and was a very gentle soul, but her children were there, her husband was away and she did what she had to in order to protect them.

     And how great-great grandmother hid the children in the large flour bin when the Indians came to her home, then cooked a meal for the natives before they left because they were so hungry.

     And during the depression, when great-grandpa took in a large family who were homeless, he quietly went into the field and began to plow an extra acre to plant more food.

     Strength, charity, tolerance, forbearance – some of the qualities passed down through the generations to you and me.

     So, this month, remember who you are and draw from those memories to bind the members of your family closer and cherish what you are; a person molded from the challenges and choices of those who lived before you – your ancestors.

©2012 Linda Gatewood