Pack Up the Babies...

Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies The Taylor's are having a party. The sit around a campfire and food and fellowship kind of party, I'm bringing flags and pink flamingos. What about you?

Besides going to Greenleaf joy, I don't have to cook for next weeks work lunches, more joy. I don't have to commute, pay downtown parking, hike up the hill, heck, I don't have to work next week. I'll play, jabber, watch Autumn play in the trees, sit under the trees, look at the lake, the sky, the clouds, the dogs, the kids playing, growing, see the smiles, the fishermen, the biscuits come out of the oven. I'll be real busy.

Family, just what the doctor ordered when you are feeling down and troubled. Does anyone else have cataracts? Who knows anything about cataract surgery? I told my doctor my glasses sucked, he told me, "It isn't your glasses." How can one body have so much fall apart? My trick knee is tricked out! Curses! An artificial lenses? I don't know. Guess it is better than going blind.

I think I have plucked my last two tomatoes from my tomato farm. Had one for dinner last night with Roger and The Connorman, who are coming to Greenleaf, and it was delicious.

I have an idea for a Taylor Family Flag -- I'm still working on it. Roger went to four stores, Ian went to four stores -- a Washington State flag just wasn't to be found. Amazon here I come.

Did I mention all my family will be there? All three sons and one fine specimen of a grandson. For now; Connor is busy being busy, Roger is running, Ian is socializing, who knows what Christian is up to, but by next Wednesday they will all be at the lake. Cabin 5 I think.

Janice will be absent, Kathy might not make it, it depends on a certain new grandson's arrival. Has anyone heard from Verla? Kenny will be there, Summer will be there, Chris will, Jean will, I will. Hey, Summer, is Ed coming?

Big G Gathering? Greenleaf? Clan Gathering? Gathering of the Tribes? Family Reunion? Happy family reunion? Does it get any better than that?

People often look at me funny, and back away, when I mention how happy I am to be going to a family reunion. "Oh, that's nice," they say in a bored, backing-up, oh well, I can't believe it voice. It's not like it's Las Vegas, it's not Europe, those destinations would be okay and worthy, but a family reunion? Get real.

Don't people like families?

Don't people like their families?

I have two new turtles, one from Hawaii and one from Mexico. God I love friends. I've had a pedicure, I'm not getting a haircut, Netflix is tucked away for the next two weeks. I'm in full preparation mode. I have a small family heirloom for Summer. Is she already there? Is Jeff? I think Jerry and Jane have or will be arriving momentarily.

Don't people like their families? Our family is messy, like other families. Liberal to conservative, like others. Fat/thin, tall/short, rich/poor, reader/gammer, married/single, biker/jogger, those who sit at the fishing dock/those who sit at the campfire, you know, like other families -- messy. But somehow we don't' ask each other to be perfect, to be like us, we only ask each other to be family. What is not to like with young Branson, biking Michael, geeky Connor, chatty Cathy?

I've been thinking of mother and how her big old fat arms embraced everyone, all her family. Black, brown, red, or white her arms knew no boundaries. Her spirit is imbued in our everyday lives and most especially at family reunions. Her spirit scooped up Tal and Jane and all the other errant spouses the rest of us had for a while. She loved food, camping, get togethers, parties -- family. She was "game on" for just about any experience. She would go to a mountain top or the middle of the desert and find joy, beauty, have a wonderful experience. She loved us all with or without bad hair days, with children with drippy noses and beyond. Like I said, no boundaries.

I see a bit of Mother shine in everyone. Everyone who loves, who jokes, who's ornery, who's intelligent, sassy, game, accepting, cooking, rocking or holding a baby, hugging, laughing, sighing crying, going into jail or coming out, even run-a-way teenagers. Sigh, how did I ever survive. Mother wrapped us up in her big ole' non-discriminatory arms.

Julia and I were talking about Mother recently and I wondered if the younger kiddos know what a wonderful, wacky, silly, intelligent individual they are descended from. We don't have to keep her spirit alive, it is alive and well and living in her progeny. Lucky us.

How do folks get along without families? Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, a special cousin or two, how do families get along without gathering at Greenleaf, or its facsimile? A family blooms from a mother and a father. A family supports and loves and cherishes each individual through sorrow and joy. How can you go through life not sharing joy and sorrow? Mother loved her children, we love our children, and our children love theirs. A legacy of love.

I wanted to write more academically about families; scientific definition, affects and effects, studies done, conclusions drawn, but I failed miserably, all that love just kept oozing out. Families -- there's the good dog, the bad dog, and all the dogs in between. To quote a famous author, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," and family was there.

To quote a famous brother,"See you at Greenleaf." Now only hours away.

Those missing will be missed.