Family Reunion. Two little words that will either make you cringe or bring a smile to your face. I choose the latter. I just wish we hadn’t waited so long. I’m the youngest of 3 and I’m over 50 and we just now decided to have our first family reunion. I’m not sure why we waited so long. I guess we all get busy with living our lives and think, “Well, we can always do it next year.” Then it becomes the next year and the next and before you know it decades have passed and you haven’t seen or talked to your cousins. It’s such a shame because we always had so much fun together. Especially at the lake. The one thing that got the ball rolling on our reunion is that our father is getting older and we decided to do this while he can still enjoy all the fun.
The first-ever Wise Family Reunion took place at Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. We had family come in from all corners of the country. It was like taking a step back in time to my childhood. Doing the things we used to do when we were little. We all enjoyed the lake, swimming, boating, waterskiing, catching lightning bugs and telling stories. And that’s exactly what we did. Our family took over a resort on Indian Point right on the water's edge. Between my brother and my sister they put together an amazing event. My artistic nephew, Drew, created a beautiful coat of arms to represent our family. It became the symbol that connects all of us. I took care of getting the tents and chairs. My aunt and uncle brought their boat. Everyone was so excited that they all wanted to pitch in and help in some way.
The
Whole Fam-Damly
By Susan Wise