52 Ancestors Week 22: Reunion

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 22:

The theme for Week 22 is “Reunion.” Whether it’s a family reunion, a class reunion, or some other commonality that brings people back together, it’s an opportunity for connection and context. What reunions can you think about in your family tree?

Keep smiling while grandpa takes the picture. Just keep smiling....

    In my experience, just about any family get-together can be a reunion. When your family is as large as mine, it sometimes takes an act of God to get everyone in the same room at the same time. Christmas parties, birthday parties, weddings and all those events can be considered a family reunion. What about graduations? Yeah, we can toss those into the mix. I remember one graduation/reunion VERY well. Let's go back in time to Friday June 13th, 1997.

    Why are we going back to that specific date you ask? Well, it was the day of the famous Merrimack Valley Lightning Storm, of course. It was also the day I graduated high school. It wasn't my idea to graduate in the pouring rain!  Before graduation our class huddled together in the gym and we could hear the thunder and lightning outside. It was almost daring us to go out there and get our diplomas. Our family and friends were gathered at the outdoor track and we put it to a vote. Do we go out there and get rained on or do we wait another day?

Want to give me a second to
change, Papa? No? Fine....

    Judging by this picture you clearly can see that the class decided to graduate that day despite the rain and despite it being Friday the 13th. We had a very, very rushed ceremony with very few speeches. We grabbed our diplomas and headed home after a few hugs and promises that we'd get together when it was less...ya know....rainy.

    On the ride home my parents told me that it was probably for the best that I graduated when I did. I said "Ma, I'm drenched.. The first thing I'm going to do is change out of these clothes." My dad said "You might want to wait a few minutes...."

    We pulled into the driveway and I see a ton of cars sitting there. It looked like a mall parking lot on the day of a sale.  I sat back and I was like "Oh, god...the party." I had almost forgotten because of all the hustle and bustle. We had planned a party for weeks and family members from all over the place were invited to attend.

    I go inside and who was the first to greet me? My grandfather Bob with his camera! He ushered me into the living room and I was still soaked to the bone.....

  I've explained many times how my grandfather took his photography hobby very seriously. He was the kind of man who'd make sure every shot was perfect and that everything came out exactly as he'd imagine it. The only problem was I was impatient and soaked while I was getting my picture taken. My parents took a picture with me and it wasn't very flattering as they were getting wet just standing next to me.

    Off to the side I could see my brother and my cousins laughing and that was why I was giving someone the side-eye as the picture was taken. I was not having a good time (At first.) After what seemed like ages, my grandfather finally finished taking pictures of me. I ran upstairs and changed before anyone could blink.

Can I has cake?

    After a few minutes, I went back downstairs and greeted everyone properly. My little cousins still made jokes about the rain and everything but it was all in good fun. I greeted my grandparents, aunts, my great-aunts, my dad's cousins, their significant others and everyone else who was at the party. See. All it took was a change of clothes to improve my disposition. I do not like being photographed soaking wet. 

    I did appreciate the hugs from various family members who were so happy that I graduated.  I got to hear family stories about their own graduations. All of them were much, much drier than my own. 

    Both of my grandmothers graduated Haverhill High at different times and told me how different it was graduating with the war on the horizon. I can only imagine. I think I touched upon that when I wrote about their yearbooks a few years ago.  It was still great hearing stories while waiting for dinner and everything. I was honestly just glad to be dry at that point. Still, it was fun catching up with everyone that day.

    We also talked about my plans for the future. Everyone knew I was going to Merrimack College in North Andover. But, they didn't know what I'd be studying. At that point I hadn't decided on a major. Naturally, everyone gave me some advice. It wasn't until I talked to my future sister-in-law Kathleen that I decided on something that I'd actually be good at. I'm not sure if she was at the party. I know she came by the house some time after my graduation since my brother and her were dating at the time.

My mom took this pic in three seconds
to prove a point.

        I also got to see cousins who I usually saw around Christmas. My cousins Kristyn and Ryan used to live in the apartment above my father's office and had moved to Nashua by the time I graduated. I saw them less despite them being relatively close by. It was good seeing them and the other cousins.

    My grandfather took the opportunity to take pictures of the whole motley crew while he could. And once again he took forever and a day to take the picture! Meanwhile, my mother used one of those disposable cameras and took a quick pic of him taking a picture of us. Imagine if she had an iPhone back then. That's something my grandfather NEVER figured out. I think he just preferred the old-style cameras. I wasn't gonna argue with him!

    After the final pictures were taken, my cousins and I went upstairs to play video games. I think we had enough of pictures for a while. After food and everything I just wanted to relax with my cousins  I do have a bit of a mystery, though. Since my grandfather was taking a picture of us in that shot, what happened to the picture? I haven't been able to find it in the photo albums my aunt Linda gave me in 2020. Perhaps someone in the family has it. Or it could be in the pile of photos in a box labeled "Pics from the '90s".

    As you can see reunions can happen even at graduation parties. We had a great time despite the torrential rain. I guess it's true what they say. You can make the best out of any situation despite the weather conditions outside. Sure it was wet and I had the mood of a wet cat when I came home. But, it didn't matter. I was with my family and the day was made even more memorable since I was with them. That's what reunions are all about. Making new memories and being together in any situation. They all came by to celebrate and that was all I wanted. I don't even care much that it was raining. We were inside and I probably wouldn't change anything if I could. 

    Though, I did have to make sure my college graduation was dry.  Thankfully, that ceremony was inside!

See ya next time!

The most Italian pic ever.*

*= Yes, I know some of those people aren't Italian. Work with me.