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Surprise! It is possible to have a delightful family reunion (except for the sunburn) By
Kimberly Barraclough
What comes to your mind when you hear the word summer? Do you think of the blazing temperatures that make the sidewalk so hot you can fry an egg on it? Drinking a glass of ice-cold lemonade under a shady tree, or fishing down by the lake? Summer reminds me of family reunions. Visiting with relatives whom you haven't seen in years. Now for a couple of days you're forced to be nice to them, whether you want to or not. Family reunions can cause stress for family members. Not only for the person who is in charge, but also for people attending. Family reunions have a tendency to make us reminisce what we've accomplished in our life, so we can tell other family members how successful we've been. It can cause feelings of jealousy between family members, if they have more money then we do. Last but not least family reunions can cause a dispute between siblings. This happened between my husband and his sister. I remember it as the family reunion from Hell! From that point on I've been reluctant to attend another family reunion. Well this last weekend was my husband's family reunion. We were told three months in advance about the reunion. I started to have anxiety! The family would be camping for two days. That was a long time to be with people who would drive me crazy! Also, I don't like to camp. I don't like the idea of not being able to take a shower for two days, and using the great outdoors for the bathroom. My husband got all of the camping gear together and we left for the big adventure. In my mind I kept thinking, "I hope this doesn't turn out like the last one we went to." We arrived later that night at Payson Lakes. All of my husband's immediate and extended family were there. I met cousins who I never even knew existed. While we visited with them, I started to enjoy myself. I thought, "Maybe this will be fun after all." Morning came and our day was filled with activities galore! We went fishing, and swam in the lake, also later that day we took a hike on one of the trails. We played bingo, and horseshoes. I was having such a great time, I forgot to put sunscreen on when we swam and now I'm sunburned. In my husband's family it's tradition to have Dutch oven cooking when you go camping. So we had a tasty meal for dinner. The last night of the reunion I will always remember. Everyone was sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows when we had a visitor. It was a skunk. He came and stayed in our campground the rest of the night. Thank goodness he didn't spray us! As it was time to leave, I realized what a fun time I had at this family reunion. I didn't want it to end. I enjoyed visiting with my husband's immediate and extended family. I decided I'll even go again next year.
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