To celebrate my mom’s 80th year of life, I thought it would be great to get the family together and spend time with her. So last year, I emailed all my siblings to see if they would be interested. My mom, oldest sister and I live in the Vancouver area but the rest live far away. My brothers are in Edmonton and Virginia, and my sister is in Manila. My nieces, Cathleen and Camille, took over the task of planning and organizing the reunion. They did a great job! (Thank you!) Sixteen of the twenty family members were able to partake in the week-long festivities.
The festivities started with a trip to Bellevue, WA from Aug 9 to 12. We ate (a lot), went sight-seeing around Seattle and Bainbridge Island, and shopped a little. We also did a day trip to Leavenworth, WA which as a two hour drive from Bellevue. We all wore our family reunion shirt that day. Having everybody be at the same place at the same time is rare for our family and it was really such a treat to have so many of our family members together, enjoying each other.
The festivities continued in Vancouver for the rest of the week. Lots of eating and hanging out. Ed and I hosted a dinner party at our place one night. Sabrina, my niece, baked some super delicious cheese bread and cupcakes. Another day, my nieces Sabrina, Andie, and Ally went stand up paddling in English Bay. On Friday evening was the “official” birthday dinner, a 10-course banquet at a Chinese restaurant. Yes, more eating!
When I told my mom last year about my idea for a reunion, she did not seem very keen on it. She didn’t want people to fuss over her and for people to go out of their way for her. She worried about the out-of-towners spending money to come to Vancouver and using their vacation time to come here. So typical of my mom. I told her that turning 80 is a big deal and the fact that she is still in very good health is an excellent reason to have a celebration. By the end of the reunion week, as my brother and his family were leaving for Virginia, my mom said to me that she was very happy that the reunion happened. I felt very happy when she said that. She said that seeing her grandchildren have such close relationships with each other made her very, very happy.
People say that one doesn’t really appreciate one’s parent until he/she becomes a parent, too. And that is so true for me. My mom had five kids! I can’t imagine raising and caring for five kids. She was the buffer between us and our dad, who was a difficult man. She provided us with the nurturing care, which I never really appreciated until I was an adult. All I saw when I was young were the things she didn’t do. Now, I realize the many things she did for us kids and how it affected me positively without me even knowing.
My mom’s actual birthday is in October and we will have another birthday dinner for her at my place. My two brothers are flying back for that weekend to celebrate with her again. Here’s to 80 years of life and good health!
Some photos from our reunion week:
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