Holidays Are All About Family: Again, How Am I Related to These People?

It was a beautiful crisp morning when the certified letter arrived. I unknowingly signed, and thanked my mailman. Then it hit me. Was I being sued? Debt collectors? Repossession? Had I missed my mortgage payment? Who died, and was I in the will? It was much worse than I ever imagined. The dreaded holiday family reunion!

My head reeled with the horrible visions of holidays past. All the times I swore I would never do this again.The chaos and confusion (I cannot be related to these people) was just too much. Unfortunately my busy-body sister had sealed the deal with a signature. Clever little wench, blacking out the names of the not-so-liked and no-shows. Why wasn't my name under the permanent marker(image 1)? I really do not want to deal with this.

Upon arrival at the rustic old farmhouse my grandparents had shared for more than seven decades, the nostalgia washed over me in a flood of memories. My cousins and I had pushed my grandfather's 1940 flatbed ford down the hill to the back pasture; grinding every gear. Little did we know he had watched the entire escapade that night(image 2).

We did not own a saddle, so I would coax Red along the fence, climb to the top support, jump to his back, grab his mane and hang on for dear life. Another escapade my grandfather had enjoyed from the second-floor window.

I walked through the long-deserted chicken coop where I first encountered my grandmother's maniacal rooster. The pots and metal pie pans used for body armor saved most of the eggs. My old rubber galoshes still lay by the door; protection from the "chicken-hockey." I do not remember being that small.

As I trekked up the hill the crowd was gathering for the feeding frenzy(image 3). Hugs, back-slaps and play fighting for the men. Squeals, hair-pulls and kisses for the women. Angry babies were passed around, kissed and mauled. Again,I wondered--how was I related(image 4)? As I stared at enough food to feed a third-world country, I thought about that rooster...Naw!

As my sister (the busy-body) steered the herd to designated seating, to avoid the scuffling and shoving, somehow the melange became suddenly organized. Even the childrens' room was civilized. This was not what I had envisioned. We talked for hours, reuniting old and new.

Topping off a most superb feast was (oh,no) the home videos. As the teen-agers rearranged furniture and secured the white sheet to the wall, busy-body's husband set up the projector. Seriously? Do they even make 8mm anymore? We rummaged through the shoe boxes of old celluloid for the most intact.

As we laughed, cried, punched each other and rolled around in mock wrestling moves I noticed the crowd had slowly dwindled(image 5). Sleeping babies and teen-agers were huddled everywhere.The die-hards surviving the remaining flickering silent film, sat in whispered speculation and reminiscence until dawn.

The following day everyone was hugging, crying, making promises and writing down contact information between bundling and loading luggage. Still sleeping babies were buckled-in and pacified. Arms were frantically waving from every open window as vehicles serpentined down the long gravel drive. The stragglers locked and secured the old homestead. I wondered how many more holidays were in the future.

I was the very last to leave. Watching the caravan, it suddenly hit me. No matter how loud, obnoxious, frustrating, interfering, illogical or crazy; this was undeniably my family.

Happy Holidays!

Sources:
Personal. Great experiences and encounters along the way.

Images Courtesy Yahoo Public Domain Gallery:
Image 1: the certified letter. credit: Chia-Li Chen/copyright: Chia-Li Chen. caption: Sample Monthly Biz Financial Health Summary.

Image 2: the old homestead. credit: PD-US/copyright: Wikimedia Commons. caption: Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Crowds often jam the patio to inspect handprints of stars. Its opening in 1927 was the most spectacular in film history. From the Carol Highsmiths Collection at the Library of Congress.

Image 3: the crowd gathers for the feeding frenzy. credit/copyright: http://commons.wikimedia. caption: metro crowd.jpg

Image 4: I cannot be related to these people. credit: istock/copyright: 2011. caption: Standing Out From The Crowd.

Image 5: rolling, punching, wrestling, watching home movies. credit: Activision Press Materials/copyright: Marvel Entertainment LLC. caption: Wolverine and Ami Yoshida face off against anti-mutant thugs.