The Ties That Bind...

What is it you may ask that binds us together? Why can cousins that only see each other sporadically and know little of each other's lives feel a bond that can't be broken? I suspect it's all Elijah's fault. Turning the hearts of the children to their fathers is indeed the process that binds even those on Earth together.

Last week we had a family reunion. The cousins we saw are really my Dad's first cousins, but the generations are staggered as he is old enough to be their father and I am young enough to be their child....well almost. My cousin Sharon was married on my birthday. When Keith and Sharon asked my parents if they would be able to come to the wedding, the story goes that my Mom answered with regret that even though I wasn't due for a couple of weeks they wouldn't make it because they would be having a baby that day. Sharon and I like it that we can quickly calculate their wedding anniversary/my birthday so easily.

Another cousin we saw was Leonard and his wife Lori. Despite our infrequency of family get-togethers these two welcomed Sharon (The Sharon that is a frequent blog commenter rather than the previous Sharon) and I into their home and lives on multiple occasions the summer we worked in Jackson Hole. They fed us, entertained us...in short loved us and made us feel at home on a journey AWAY from home. I will never forget their open arms or hearts. Their oldest son is now 30 in medical school and has 3 children! Wow time flies...but it seems like just yesterday (only 16 years ago) that we hung out at their 'rest stop'.

I learned a lot about my great aunt Norma (She'll be 90 in a couple of weeks she said) this reunion. See she married my Grandma's brother. I had only heard bits and pieces of stories about him. My Grandma (Gladys), her mom (Annie) and brother (Johnnie) emigrated for the first time to the U.S. in about 1914. At some point due to a death of my grandma's grandparent I believe Annie and Gladys decided to return to England for a visit. Johnnie did not want to go so while only being about 9 years old stayed with family of the missionaries that my Grandma knew from England while the others traveled. Little did they know that WWI would break out and delay their return to the U.S. for many years. Anyway fast forward 35+ years and we find Johnnie with three teenage boys and a wife that died in childbirth delivering a daughter. Norma was asked by her bishop to help Johnnie out with the books for his business and as she said it started from that. She soon married Johnnie, helped raise his children and had 4 more of her own. Sharon and Leonard are two of them.

We also saw my Aunt and Uncle Ray and Joy. I've talked about them before. But it's always a 'joy' to see them. :) And I especially love to see my Dad and his brother together. Yep...Elijah you were busy last weekend. Thanks for stopping by.