No regrets...

You know that my ear piercing did not work out.  Got up my courage (me the biggest coward ever!!) and did it and then piercing wouldn't stay and closed up.  A friend told me I took the studs out to soon so I decided to regroup and build up courage and do it again.  Like this week!  and what shows up in the news????....Claires has declared bankruptcy and closing up shop!!  Maybe I'm not to have it done????

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Lately I've been thinking of the importance of planning your life so that the summation, a few years out, won't have areas of regret for things not done.  Especially with family memories. 

My Mother died in 1999 and Dixie and I jointly inherited a timeshare at McCall.  Mother had invited our family to use it that year.  That was 19 years ago when we had, what I would call, our first planned reunion.  At first Dixie and I alternated years and then eventually she signed it over to me and we had it available every year.

We have thoroughly enjoyed it and have made incredible indelible memories for all of us.  You've heard about our fun times there over the years.

Those times are pretty much over for any of that happening again.  Last year we were to celebrate our 60th anniversary there and it all fell through because of Terry's health but we had a fantastic time celebrating in Kennewick at our Grandson's home.  But the McCall trek for a family reunion has now faded away.

and it's okay.  We knew this would happen.  About the only time you can get 5 families together at the same time, along with the parents/grandparents, is when all of the kiddos are in school and living of course at home.  Once they graduate and start college and get jobs...it's a whole new world!

I have a friend that always had their family reunions over in the Cannon Beach area.  5 adult kiddos...like us.  They always rented the same place and did the same sort of activities and had certain traditions and meals and etc.  That faded out as grandchildren graduated and moved on into education/ careers/ marriage.  That is now a thing of their past but they have the marvelous shared memories and now their children will do something similar.

Another friend always gathered their 3 sons and families to a big rental in California on the beach.  It also eventually faded out.  Memories don't fade though. 

Jeanee and I talked last week about having no regrets over these last 19 years.  It was worth every single ounce of energy and money to make it happen.  Our family is loud when together and laughs boisterously and loves to talk and horse around.  We had fun!!  We have made memories that will endure.

Now we move to the next phase of life.  Our life and their's.  Terry will be 80 in October!!  (no way!)  We have made the decision, just this week, that we will continue to go to McCall each year (as long as I can safely drive us there) and we will let everyone know and if someone can come for the week or a few days...awesome!  if they can't?...that is fine also.

A few years ago, our 3 granddaughters- Cassie, Tori, Britta, came to me and asked me to never sell the timeshare as they wanted to someday bring their own families there.  They want to keep the tradition going.  That made me teary as it was so sweet and they were so sincere.  We will just hang onto it as long as it is still standing!

Now we are into making memories with each individual family and want to see each of they yearly.  We are blessed to have our Grandson and his little family nearby and just yesterday we decided to make a simple monthly get together into a memory to be looked back on.  nothing complicated or elaborate but just a consistent monthly event.  The first one will be making sno-cones and use the little machine we used at McCall.  Just a couple of hours together each month will build fantastic memories and we will make sure to take a picture.

Each of those 3 gr-daughters I mentioned enjoy being with us and I credit it to that annual McCall reunion.

Truly to look back over these 19 years and to know we drew closer as a family and established a tradition and created lasting memories just makes me so happy.  Especially considering the conversation Jeanee and I had on our way to the first one...I said...this will either be the best, most bonding thing for our family OR it will implode and we will never see each other again!!  We have 5 of the most diverse wonderful people ever born but they are all marching to their own drumbeat!  Of course, you know the way it ended up...terrific!

Britta is soon to be married and I got such a laugh out of one of the things she told her hubby-to-be...McCall is not an option.  It's a must do.

So many of you live close, maybe in the same town with your family, do you plan something to get together and establish it as a tradition?  IF I had it to do over, I'd never call a trip a vacation, I'd call it a Family Reunion!!

What a great time over these last years!

Now we move into making new memories in a new and different way perhaps but memories still!