Friday afternoon, we left for Wisconsin, leaving Tinker and Belle in Sarah and Gage’s capable hands.
The night before we left, Sarah made us a delicious meal of stuffed peppers; they were both beautiful and delicious. Sarah is a wonderful cook.
On our flight, I saw an unusual sight–a guy who wasn’t looking at a phone or tablet. Can you imagine? Not only was he reading a book, but he was reading a textbook and was taking notes. He was an older gentleman, using a cane and not seeming to be in the best of health. It was inspiring to see him still stretching his mind and learning.
Randy and Debbie picked us up at the Appleton airport in the pouring rain. Randy and Steve chatted away in the front seat while Deb and I caught up in the back.
On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant in Waupaca named Woods. It was such a Wisconsin-y restaurant. If you had set me down in there with no knowledge of where I was, I would have looked around and said, “Wisconsin.” I loved it.
After a delicious meal, the server came by with an enormous cinnamon roll and said it was complimentary. When we inquired further, she said that at the end of the day, rather than throw away their homemade cinnamon rolls, they give them to the customers. We all thought it would have been at least ten dollars for a cinnamon roll that size, but they only charge $4.50. We could definitely tell we were not in a big city.
The restaurant was at the end of an old mall with various businesses in the spaces. I couldn’t help but notice something unusual at the bottom of this list of services. Chiropractic for horses? I can’t even imagine how that would work, but I was intrigued.
Another sign I saw was this one in Spencer where Randy and Debbie live. Pure maple syrup on the honor system. Isn’t that great?
It was wonderful to get to our room at the Randy and Debbie Hotel at the end of a long travel day. Always feels like our second home.
Deb always has such pretty decor everywhere, PLUS she made us her famous pancakes. What’s not to love?
The sky didn’t get the memo and poured rain all day, so we had to jettison our traditional hayless hayride. But thanks to Arnold for having the truck and trailer organized and ready in case the weather broke.
The gray skies made the colors around Ruth’s house pop all the more.
My oldest brother Tim, has been dealing with some complications from diabetes that have made his vision blurry. (Thankfully, his doctor said nothing in his eye is damaged and he expects Tim’s vision to clear.) When I got to the house and went to hug Tim, he smiled broadly and said, “Hi, Steve!”
His eyes might be struggling, but his sense of humor is alive and well. (He did know it was me.) Love my big bro!
Ruth shared the loveliness of her lilacs, which, inexplicably, had bloomed twice in a year.
Here she is with Gideon, grandbaby number four.
Gideon is a merry little soul and loved being with all the people. He especially enjoyed getting thrown into the air by his dad.
Randy watching his great-nephew perfect the Army crawl.
So good to be with family! Tim and Berit and their son and daughter-in-law. And of course, Ma and Pa Smith.
Randy and Debbie’s son and daughter-in-law, hanging out on the big couch, while the stories swirled around them.
My favorite part of the day was when all the women gathered in Ruth’s screened-in porch, a light rain on the roof, surrounded only by nature. It felt like we were a billion miles away from Charlotte’s crazy freeways.
We talked and laughed for two hours–my two sisters, my sister-in-law, and my three nieces. All of us in different stages of life, all of us able to teach each other and learn from each other, just by sharing our stories.
I’ll close with this photo.
It is already a special picture because Steve (representing the oldest generation in the room) is holding his great-niece, Keziah, while talking to his nephew Andrew and his new wife, Emily. The ebb and flow of the generations is displayed as new members are added to the family through birth and through marriage. We are so thankful for each addition.
But the photo is also special because Steve is sitting in the exact place where Mom’s bed was when she passed away four years ago. It used to be that she represented the oldest generation in the room. But not anymore. Now it’s Steve and me, our siblings, and our siblings-in-law. We are the ones who are next in line.
Mom’s memory was in the room with us on Saturday as the eldest all the way down to little Gideon gathered under the sound of the gentle autumn rain. The older ones told their stories to the younger ones–grateful for the chance to do so one more time, grateful to know the stories would be retold, grateful that we storytellers would be remembered long after we are gone.
Wisconsin. Family. Grateful.
What about you?
What is your favorite part of a family reunion?
Do you enjoy the storytelling?
What are you looking forward to this week?
I always love seeing photos of your sister’s home. It’s so beautifully decorated. 🙂
Sounds like a great reunion! We don’t have reunions (there are very few of my family left – my mom had no siblings, her mom* only had two siblings; my dad was one of 3, and his brothers’ kids are scattered to the winds). I’d love to meet up with some of my cousins some day, but that’s unlikely – even funerals aren’t the gatherings they used to be.
*mom is potentially not her mom, her birth certificate-listed dad was 100% not her dad. Curiouser and curiouser.
Equine chiropractic?? I’d love to see how that works!! My mother-in-law’s miniature Yorkie got hit by a car once (hers….terrible!!) and got a fractured pelvis. Tinkerbelle was about 4 pounds. No match for a car tire. Anyway, the local chiropractor made house calls and did adjustments on Tinker for quite some time. It really helped! Also it was a great big secret because Roy didn’t want anyone to know he was working on a dog! He thought it might affect his license. Don’t know if he was just saying that or if it was really true. Hmmmm……
Your reunion looks like so much fun! I wish we still had family reunions but just can’t seem to get everyone together. It’s really a shame because we all live in the same state, relatively close together and it wouldn’t be that hard. My daughter has tried more than once to organize one but there’s one branch that just won’t participate and it’s a big chunk of the family. She’s tired of trying and I don’t blame her. It’s just sad.
Looking forward to some normalcy this week after dad’s funeral on Friday. Also celebrating my son-in-law’s birthday on Tuesday!
Beautiful! The stories the pictures. I look forward every Monday to see your post as I am in the same stage of life and your words make me feel like I am not alone. My 94 year old dad crawled to the phone at 3am to tell me he fell and could not get up. Went to his house and could not get him up so called 911. Took him to hospital and they released him in a few hours with a wound to his head. All was okay. He’s home now acting like nothing happened. Meanwhile I busted an eye vessel but he told me it’s not his fault. Gotta respect him and his attitude. Tomorrow would be my mom and his 70th anniversary, she passed 2023.