Growing up, I never realized how special family reunions were because we had them fairly frequently, from the whole extended family to just the cousins to a few families here and there if schedules allowed. Bottomline is, we were raised to always make the effort to see family, no matter what. Then, when I met my now husband, he had never been on a family vacation, which seemed ludicrous to me. It simply seemed like it should be a no brainer to get your family together on a regular basis and I couldn’t comprehend when families didn’t partake. Fast forward to when I have my own family and seeing how much work goes into even the smallest family vacation that it makes me understand why it might happen more regularly for some and not for others. 

This past summer, we finally had our big family reunion, of almost 45 people (one family couldn’t make it and another just had their first baby), on my Dad’s side that we had all been talking about for years. Majority of the family lives in Wisconsin so when they asked if my family and I would be okay traveling that far, I said, absolutely because I wanted to give my family an accurate taste of the beautiful state I was born in. My Mom and Dad found the property through a family friend and my Uncle Joe, who also happens to be our family archivist (which if you don’t have one, I highly recommend you get one), and his three boys and their families organized a large portion of the day to day since they are all local. I am not exaggerating when I say they literally thought of absolutely everything. We’re talking, meals were planned out, including my Aunt Jean’s homemade lasagna, who passed away two years ago, so it was a special nod to her. Custom signage upon entry to the property. Custom reunion t-shirts were distributed upon arrival. Custom bingo cards were made highlighting our Vetta family’s Italian and Irish Catholic history. Custom gifts were organized for the bingo winners, from coffee mugs to ornaments to koozies. A family bags or cornhole, whichever way you like to call it, but bags is the Wisconsin way, tournament was put together in no time. Cousins, ranging from ages 1 to almost 12, who had never met before started playing like they’ve known each other for years. It was truly the coolest thing to witness. 

Maybe it’s realizing, almost 12 years in, how hard this whole parenting thing is and how much time and effort goes into keeping your family together. So, it reminded me, that while it may not look like your efforts are being recognized or appreciated at first, they will eventually and if family is a big priority in your life, this is your friendly reminder to continue showing up because future generations will appreciate it and I can personally attest to this. It all hits different now.