Reunion

I remember as a child (5 and 6 years old) going to family reunions in Salem, South Carolina. It was always on the grounds of the Salem Baptist Church. There were long, wooden tables that just about buckled with heavy loads of coconut cakes, fried chicken, potato salad, green beans, macaroni pie (that's cheese and macaroni for those of you who didn't grow up in the south), sliced tomatoes, homemade biscuits, etc etc Uncle John was the residing patriarch for many years. In recent years it has provided the opportunity to stroll through the cemetery, revisit ancestors, relive family history, and always pay homage at Great Grandfather Daniel's rock monument ( he built it one rock at a time down in the pasture when he went to pray; I always wondered what he was thinking about: state of the world? state of his soul? those months he spent as a prisoner after the Battle of the Wilderness?)
Most recently the reunion has moved to Devil's Fork State Park right outside Salem. Most have died, so it's Uncle Roy's children and offsprings. It is time to renew acquaintances, retell stories for the hundredth time, embellish and even lie a little, and still enjoy good food. Every year is a little sadder for us old timers now----one or two less relatives, new aches and pains, reality of knowing it will be the last time you see a certain loved one. This year my dearest cousin managed to screw her courage to the whipping post and show up. Her body is riddled with cancer; her spirit is strong and undaunted. We simply kissed and hugged. Words were unnecessary.
The highlight of the day was meeting a "new" relative. Only one cousin knew he existed, born 57 years ago and reappearing only last February. Mother and son met for the first time in July, he came to the reunion, and promised to return Christmas. Any fear or embarrassment was wiped away in the joy, love, and acceptance expressed by everyone.
REUNION WAS REAL AND PERSONAL!