Ode to Family

I've considered several different titles for this blog...I'm afraid I'm going to end up with half a dozen blogs all rolled into one, because there is just so much stuff rolling around in my head. I even briefly thought about doing what I used to do when I was in school...write the paper first, then title it. My English teachers always frowned on that. (Why is that, Jenni?) They always wanted the title and outline of my term paper handed in first! How could I do that? I didn't even know what I was going to write yet???

So....since everything rolling around in my head is pretty much a result of the planning, process, and product of a family reunion, I decided on the title "Ode to Family"...and I wrote it first! (Mrs. Morgan, Sr. Eng. OHS '75, would be proud! And I even used some alliteration!)

Last weekend, 40 members of my family gathered for the 2nd annual West Family Summer Christmas. That's right...Christmas...complete with Christmas tree, gift exchange, stockings, and turkey & dressing Christmas dinner (even fruitcake!).

Christmas was always the time of year when my four brothers and sisters and I, along with our families, would gather at Mother & Daddy's for family time. We always exchanged gifts, ate turkey and dressing, and had a great time seeing how much each others' kids had grown and reminiscing about old times. I am always amazed that when recounting the same incident, each of us remember different things. Individually, our memories are monotone, but together, it's like we each have a different color crayon to color in the memory to keep it bright.

As our kids have grown and married and had families of their own and moved all over the country, it has been harder to get them all back to Odessa to Grannie's house for Christmas. This generation of cousins has always been very close, and they missed not getting to see everyone. We decided we could get together in the summer when schedules were less busy...but we didn't want to lose any of our Christmas traditions which had become unique to the Raymond West family...so we decided to have Christmas in the summer. We tried it last year for the first time and it was a delightful success, so we officially adopted our new version of Christmas...the West Family Summer Christmas.

Why? I've been pondering the "why" of some of the things we do as family. Perhaps this is from being around Tater and listening to his favorite 2-year-old question...why? Why is it so important to us to see one another at least once a year? Why is it so important for us to continue traditions that started when Maggie, Lara, and Jenni were the only grandchildren in the family? Why is it so important that we continue to give gifts to one another in July? Because we are family...and it's more than just a song!

Why are we so eager to see each other? Because my parents taught us that family is one of the most important things in the world. It is the first institution created by God. It is the foundation for the future. We were taught to love each other and respect each other. Now that we are grown with children and grandchildren of our own, scattered from Virginia to Idaho, each living our lives as we feel led by God, we still love and respect each other. We are a part of each other. And most important of all...we actually LIKE each other!!! Why are our kids so excited about seeing their cousins? Because somehow we have managed to pass along these values to them. Even the second generation of cousins are catching on...Tater's comment: "I want to play with my cousins!"

Why do we continue the Christmas traditions even when the thermometer is hovering between 95 and 100? Because it is who we are. Traditions are unique to every family...they are what we have in common with those we love. Strong traditions spawn happy memories, and who doesn't love to walk down memory lane when the flowers are blooming and the creek is babbling? Cranberries may be hard to find in July, but traditions and memories abound all year long.

Why do we give gifts? This is one of the most thought-provoking "why" questions. So what if we get together in the summer? Lots of families do. So what if we have our own set of traditions we like to carry out? Lots of families do. I think the reason goes back to our love for family. We give because we love. The basic act of giving is based on love. None of us really need the trinkets we receive. We probably all have more 'things' than we could ever possibly need...just go look in your closet or your garage. But the idea of looking for a gift for someone you love and finding a gift that fits that person is exciting. It is a tangible way to show our love to our family. And that is important.

Folks heading out to the lake this past weekend probably wondered when they saw our banner on the fence reading West Family Summer Christmas, complete with a picture of Santa in swimming trunks, lounging in a beach chair under a palm tree. But inside the fence, no one had to wonder about the amount of love in our family...it was readily apparent as we shared an absolutely fabulous weekend each other!