Sunday Search: Another Reunion!

The family will understand the significance of this photo. 

While we have been planning this weekend for months we have been thinking about it for even longer. Ever since our son was born (especially given the circumstances around his birth) my wife and I have made a conscious effort to preserve our respective family histories that we can one day pass down all of this information to him. Part of this process is making sure that we attend the family reunions whenever we are given the opportunity to do so. Today, and this entire weekend for that matter, we were finally able to introduce our son to my mother-in-law’s side of the family up in New York.

While we have been sharing meals with various family members for the entire weekend, it was nice to have a larger group together for a short time so that we could learn a little more about the family, the different branches, and also the place where many of the roots still thrive. Much like the family reunion last summer, there were people we knew, some we recognized, and others to whom I was introduced for the first time. It was also a great way to introduce our son to an entirely new culture as these family members represented our son’s Italian and New York heritage.

After all, the stories are there, you just have to be there to listen. And when many of the family members weren’t playing with our son they would share their memories with us bringing to the fore both the rawness of recent memory but also appreciation of the time we did have with them. There really isn’t a way to describe that particular experience and that mix of emotions but, in the end, I am glad that we were there and that we are able to provide a connection to this part of the family not just for my wife and I but for our son.

Most importantly, while this was simply another reunion or gathering for some present, it was a means to connect with family for us. Family that shared stories with us that can’t be found in any book but that speak to the character of the family into which I was, once again, warmly welcomed. It was an afternoon and weekend that we will not soon forget and an experience we look forward to sharing with our son many more times in the future. However, next time I just have to remember to not eat for about three weeks prior.

Honoring Our Family Histories

While my application is still in process with the Sons of the American Revolution I received an open invitation to attend the next quarterly meeting of the chapter I will soon be joining at the Inn at Reading this past Thursday. After discussing with my wife and double checking my schedule I made plans to attend heading there straight from work. While I had hoped to arrive a little early other projects during the day delayed my departure quite a bit and I walked through the doors shortly after they began serving dinner.

Despite interrupting dinner, I was welcomed warmly as soon as I walked in the room and immediately brought to a table where a chair and place setting were brought out in short order. Throughout the meal I enjoyed the conversation with all those around the table especially with the man who had been helping me with my application from the beginning. While I had never met the men and women in that room prior, I was immediately made to feel as though we had known each other for years. While not yet official, I was seen as having a common bond with all those around me.

With dinner nearly concluded, the guest speaker for the evening was introduced and what followed was one of the more fascinating and thoroughly researched presentations that I have heard in some time. Michael C. Harris adeptly condensed a portion of his book, Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America,September 11, 1777, into a precise narrative of the battle which was both engaging and easily digestible for all in attendance. It even gave me an idea for a story or two in the future. The impetus for the book was quite simple as at the time he was employed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at the Brandywine Battlefield and he wanted to produce an accurate and comprehensive history of the engagement in the absence of current literature about the battle. Needless to say, I was one of many who purchase a book once the meeting was concluded.

Following the presentation was the business portion of the meeting which included the many new members, pending applications and supplemental applications, and reports from various committees. In the end, while formal in attire (coat and tie), the meeting itself was warm, welcoming, and relaxed. These are people that truly enjoy the company of one another, embrace the community, and honor the familial and national history that we each represent. It is an organization that I am more excited than ever to join and one that I am certainly going to enjoy sharing with my family as we discover more and more about the plethora of patriots in our family history.

Reindeer Down!

The Christmas decorations around town are quite festive and are pretty understated compared to those that I am used to encountering around the Main Line. And while there are houses here and there that have light displays a few bulbs shy of Clark Griswold, there actually isn’t much in the way of individual decorations up and down the streets. It seems as though we all agree that being out here, away from the densely populated areas, the night provides more of a light show than anyone could ever string along their eaves.

We are also in an area where people are incredibly kind and welcoming in the course of our weekly encounters. We have rarely come across someone who wasn’t pleasant and, more often than not, there have been kind words and wishes shared and reciprocated. However, given the occasional sounds in the distance and across the street, Rudolph might want to consider investing in some Kevlar. Who knows, someone around here might hold him personally responsible for Grandma’s death.

I can see it now. After their usual tales from NORAD telling watchers and listeners that Santa was crossing the Atlantic on his way to the East Coast, millions of children lay their heads town struggling to fall asleep. Then, all of the sudden…

from down in the den there arose such a clatter

that they sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

When what to their wondering eyes should appear

but a special report saying there’s nothing to fear.

As the reports pour in the news conveyed by the third string anchormen seemed grim…

they showed little emotion and went straight to their work,

the search teams were deployed and the kids when berserk.

And laying the report just off the screen,

they echoed the outcome which lead to a scream.

They cut to the authorities at the scene of the crash,

who didn’t hold back not fearing the backlash.

And they heard them proclaim at they signed off from the sight,

Rudolph was dead and Santa was grounded for the night.

As it turns out, as was reported the following day,

Rudolph isn’t bullet proof and pulled down the sleigh.

A 12 gauge took him out and with dead weight dragging them down,

the other reindeer couldn’t support Santa and they crashed in a small town.

The fire took Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen

but only singed Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

The presents were gone and Santa was pissed

because all that was left was a double checked list.

Time To Party: Part I

Last weekend, after a long day at the lodge blood drive and only spending a couple of hours at home, I took a short walk through the woods between the houses and met our neighbors for the first time. I wasn’t sure about attending given our schedule that weekend but I am certainly glad that I made the time. I liked our house and the area before I had a chance to meet anyone and now I am even more appreciative of having found our home in this neighborhood. As a bonus, there is only one neighbor that owns a cat which may not seem like a big deal to many but for us it allows us to be more welcoming to our fellow neighbors in our home.

That wasn’t the first time we had met some of the neighbors. A few weeks ago, shortly after we moved into our new home, our next door neighbor rang the doorbell and gave us a wonderful pot of soup and an invitation to their holiday party. I was out at the time but my wife had a very nice conversation with her and the soup was definitely appreciated as it provided us with an additional meal that we didn’t have to prepare that weekend. The invitation was a bit unexpected but a pleasant surprise. Almost immediately, with that single encounter, we felt welcomed in our new neighborhood.

It was interesting learning about all of our neighbors who seemed more eager to meet me than I was them. We are an interesting little collection of people with a variety of backgrounds and a diverse collection of occupations. However, the common thread among all that I spoke to at the party was that each of them wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. And this is coming from a group that included someone who has lived on the same street his entire life (50+ years) to those that used to be the new people on the block having moved in about a year or two ago.

With our son down for the night and my wife doing her best to relax and stay awake at home, I had to cut the evening short and was heading back home about an hour after arriving. It is safe to say that, so long as we get another invitation, we will both be attending the party next year. In the meantime, I am looking forward to getting to know all of our neighbors and making the time to visit each of them. This is something that we have been search for and an aspect of finding our home that we are grateful for and will certainly enjoy.

One Keurig At A Time

Lately there have been a lot of things that we have looked to move around at the lodge. Some are simply plans that we hope to follow through on in the future while other projects are well underway and will hopefully be completed by the end of the year. Of course, one space where a lot of moving around needs to be done is in the office… this is something that falls under both the former and, time permitting, will soon be a part of the latter. Frankly, I am not concerned with the space itself, although there have been talks regarding the moving of the office itself, it is more of a matter of all the stuff that has accumulated in that half of the basement.

Know in the middle of my own packing and sifting at home, I am really not looking forward to the monumental undertaking that will be required at the lodge. It really isn’t about how much stuff that needs to be moved as the room isn’t all that big. It all comes down to the fact that we have to go through each and every item, ever sheet of paper, and basically get approval to dispose of all the items that are unnecessary. At least at home I can, for the most part, take care of this pretty quickly as I know almost immediately what stays and what goes… the lodge is another story altogether.

I guess a bonus for my own move is the fact that there are a number of things that we have either replaced, plan to replace, or simply don’t need any more at the new house. While many of these things have been donated over the last couple of months (primarily shoes and clothes) there are a few other items that I am happy to donate to the lodge and some of the brethren. I always enjoy this part because it is a means for me to bring a little comfort to the lodge for all of us that use the space. While computers are completely practical and do a lot to accomplish this, having a Keurig in the new kitchen should be that little extra for some of us that makes it that much more comfortable.

I am sure that there are other things that would be beneficial to the lodge (there are definitely more important and pressing needs) but sometimes it is nice to satisfy that need for creature comforts. After all, we want the brethren to feel comfortable in the space. We want our families to feel comfortable in the space. And we want all of our guests to feel welcomed in our space. The lodge consists of the men who are members of the community with a common meeting place, the building is not just a home for those brethren but also a part of the community as a whole. By providing a welcoming lodge, we support a welcoming community.