Gladers in Colorado
My Dad’s side of the family has had two big family reunions in my lifetime, one was back in the nineties – so I barely remember it, but it was in the town I lived in at the time but the other one was when I was about 13. I really enjoyed that one because it was in Colorado, so we made a vacation out of the experience, and got to have it with so many cousins!
It was just my immediate family driving to and from Colorado, but we met up with everyone not only at a great resort near Rocky Mountain National Park, but we also saw my 1st cousins at various points during the rest of the trip. At the “program” my grandpa and his siblings put together we got the chance to talk family history and have a mini talent show I even wore matching shirts with my sister to play our school instruments for everyone. The featured picture in this post is me and all my first cousins (at the time, as my family has grown). It was fun to hang out at the resort with them and go hiking together.
I really want to have more family reunions, and more extended ones to be specific, I love that I get to see closer family members so often, but with social media and what not I’ve gotten so much more connected to my family even if I haven’t had many in-person interactions with some of them. Make time for family reunions if you can, reach out to family members, I know I’d be happy to hang out with my family in my neck of the woods or theirs!
Keep in mind I have different experiences and traditions with the other side of my family, for instance, many of my second cousins and their families have a Christmas party together with us every year, and another corner I get to see at camp almost every year, but I’ll save those stories for another time.
Enjoy family reunions in all their forms, whether its a big “program” put together by your grandparents as part of a vacation, or it’s knowing that everyone is going to show up at family camp again this year, or knowing that your mom and her cousin will put together a family party for the next holiday.
