It's August and once again time to travel to that Wild, Wonderful state. Cousins will be converging from many locations for the McKenzie-Bowling reunion. The cousins are all my favorites and some may be favorite favorites. It's a grand weekend of greetings, hugs and food, food, food. I am a great-granddaughter of Ozella Ruth, but I only vaguely remember her. I was just a little girl when I met her, but it is in her honor that our side of the clan gathers.
My mother is no longer able to make the trip. In the past, she would faithfully come to the place that she called home for many years, not only for the reunion but for many funerals of loved ones. Mom is 95 and the last of her siblings, so now I go in her honor and to represent my own siblings (and try not to embarrass them too badly). Mom and her sister stayed at my house one year and slept in my waterbed. They giggled like teenagers as they bounced on the waves. Aunt Dorothy was the one who made us laugh most, so full of life and good times. It was always a special treat when she came.
A particular year that Mom was not able to come was especially memorable, and it's probably a good thing she wasn't there. My kids were 16 and 4, and I was in the running for Mother of the Year (not that there was such an award, but I would have been the front-runner). We arrived on the scene in stereotypical West Virginia style: Yancey had a BB pellet lodged in his arm, and Curly Slim had a black eye. Yancey had been playing with a friend who accidentally fired the BB gun in his direction. They didn't want to get in trouble with parents so didn't tell anyone what had happened. Curly Slim had a run-in with the arm of a chair. Mother of the Year, indeed!
My cousins always ask me come to the beach following the gathering of the clan. And that year, I said yes, let's do it! From the reunion, no bags packed, but a quick shopping trip for basic needs prepared Curly Slim and I for a spontaneous, beach-bound vacation. The only problem was a minor car wreck on the way from the reunion to meet them. But nothing to deter my enthusiasm, only a little setback. We come from sturdy Scottish stock--no wimps here.
By gathering, the cousins all honor their parents and siblings who are no longer with us. We are the new order of things. We meet and greet and share tears of joy and sorrow. But mostly, we laugh.
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