Your Family Does Vacations. My Family Does Reunions
That is where I've been all weekend (July 18 - 21). My immediate family dove in a rented car and made our way north from Houston to Dallas, Texas. Dallas is a city made up of a lot of other cities. It crawls for miles and miles through towns like Irving and Plano and keeps going to the city of Fort Worth named after some dead guy who was great at killing Native Americans and Mexicans. We call all this the Metroplex, a cool-sounding name from a cool-looking transformer which was so big a bunch of transformers could fit in and on him.
The ride was easy, but the drive was rough. In a smaller vehicle, I knew we would likely overfill it with luggage. I was proved completely correct as we brought many things we didn't exactly need. As soon as I saw my father's golf clubs in the trunk, I knew this trip was going to be very stressful. I didn't expect the drama so early as in... the driveway. It was raining as we packed the car. Those of us in the back had backpacks stuffed along our feet. Those in the front seats were stocked up with food for long and unfamiliar traveling. Entering the car with my parents and brother felt like taking a trip on the Oregon Trail. Luckily, no one died of dysentery... yet.
We were all exhausted when we finally got there. We needed to sleep, but we couldn't. Instead, we had to check into the hotel and greet all the older people first. At check-in, we found out that we weren't the only family reunion this weekend. There was another black family doing similar things at the same Hilton Embassy Suites. Two family reunions happening at the same time might sound like it would be fun, but a lot of us don't know or remember each other after a long time apart. So all of the kids might have to have multiple greetings from the older folks. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think I could handle more than 3 or 4 "Look how big you've gotten!" Glad I'm old enough and cute enough to be recognized from the jump.
Welcome to the Vacation Station!
So far, I've had lots of fun at this family reunion. I got to spend time with Big Mama (my grandmother), see members of my family who's names I can't quite remember, and even hang out with a friend from college I know who lives in Dallas. The thing I have been doing the most though... is napping. This trip is also a vacation. I wake up early, eat the massive free breakfast, take a nap. I eat a small salad at the hotel bar and take another nap. I spend a little time with my college friend, come back to the hotel, and take a nap. Staying rested is glorious.
Living my life in the vacation station is fun, but it has made me miss a lot of the events planned by my elders. They got together to check out the city and see white tigers at an aquarium (I said that was zoo, but they told me it was an aquarium!), and had a party on Friday where they started singing classic songs. They played dominoes and spades, games I don’t play. I've been stuck in Monopoly mode for too long and don’t want to do much else. I have mostly used this family reunion to eat huge and sleep much. I needed this before I entered into the final event of the trip, The All-Black Party.
What is "The All-Black Party"
We were asked by the incredible people who set this up to bring our best black clothes to wear at a party on Saturday night. My family held tight to this single element and pulled out our finest black threads for this event. My little brother and I went down first to try to get a table, but there was a seating chart at this party. How fancy! We got there around 6:20 but I should have known that most of the 100 people coming would be fashionably late. Of course, when everyone is fashionably late, it kind of just means everyone is regular late. We found our table and made conversation with our distant cousins from Memphis. Each place at every table was strapped with a delicious-looking piece of cheesecake that I was desperate to enjoy, but couldn’t because we were waiting for Uncle Houston to make a prayer and start the event.
As my parents and the rest of the family filled in, they turned on the speaker to hear more classic music which now includes tracks from the 90s. Now I started to feel like an elder. I finally got to see the cousins I was looking for and the ones I didn't expect to see. I got to get advice from my uncles, praise all the elders, and feel the family reunion vibe.
Everything felt special. The food was great, and the party was fun. Awards were given out for those that put this massive event together. Then we let members of the larger family introduce their immediate families to everyone so we could see everyone and remember them until we do another one in two years. Only me and my cousin Ari came in like wrestler entrances on our turn. I'm not sure why she did hers, but I love it’s important to me to be remembered. Then it was time to leave early just as I arrived.
My family is such an outstanding group of Black people. We've always been there for each other. My parents often invite family into their home when they need it. My cousin Evin is there now, and his father (Uncle Eric) was there 35 years ago. We accept each other through it all, even those who travel the world like I did. They always make me feel welcome. These are my people. They are fun and wild, and want to spread joy everywhere they go. It felt so good seeing everyone at the family reunion smile and laugh. It was also fun to see 89-year-old Big Mama pick up an eye dropper off the floor like she was 39. I think that's the best part. Watching your loved ones laugh and tell a few jokes.
My only advice for a family reunion is to stop checking people out. You may not remember who you're related to.
It's so nice to see
All the folks you love together
Sittin' and talk' bout
All the things that's been goin down
It's been a long, long time
Since we've had the chance to get together
Nobody knows the next time we see each other
May be years and years from now.
Family reunion (got to have)
A family reunion
Family reunion.
It's so nice to come together. Get together!
Family Reunion by The O’Jays
