“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”-George Burns

July 17, 2018

Cousins

 

“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”-George Burns

The older (and hopefully) more mature I get, the more and more important that family and friends become in my life. Really as much as it may seem that Kathy and I travel around to a seemingly endless array of fun events and activities, our true joy is found in more quiet moments together or spending time with family or friends that I generally don’t spend a lot of effort posting about in this blog or elsewhere. Everyone has those family issues that create strain or sometimes even estrangement, but I am of the belief that there are few things in life as important as your family.

With that in mind Kathy and I had decided to make this trip to Massachusetts to attend a family get together of her family that was held at the beautiful Camp Denison in Georgetown. The gathering was of the Kilroy/ Lacey and Fitzgerald side of her father’s family and was an opportunity to catch up with all sorts of her relatives and extended family in a relaxed, truly beautiful setting.

 

 

This was the first time that Kathy and I had made it to this particular reunion and it was really a wonderful time. I especially enjoy the opportunity to see so many of Kathy’s family members, to meet some that I had not previously encountered and to reconnect with those that we see, but not all that often. Kathy’s father comes from a huge family and all but one of Kathy’s surviving aunts and uncles were on hand along with many of their extended families as well. 

 

Meeting these wonderful people always gives me better insight into my lovely wife as each time I learn more and more about her background. The reunion was held at a beautiful natural area, Camp Denison which is a 44 acre parcel of land set aside as a conservation area. The family gathering took over the really cool Great Hall Lodge which was built in 1931 and still holds that old time campground atmosphere of a bygone era. It is truly lovely.

 

The Great Hall overlooks a beautiful small pond, Baldpate Pond, which is also a beautiful typical Massachusetts pond much like the more famous Walden Pond which people are familiar with. The grounds are full of cool trails through the woods and there are all sorts of recreational and natural experiences available. 

It was a perfect setting and a beautiful summer day for the event and the food and drinks were plentiful. But it was the people that made it so special. Many of Kathy’s relatives are friends of mine on facebook, but real life meetings are so much more meaningful. Kathy’s sister Julie and her family were there, but unfortunately her brother Chris and his family could not make it out this trip. So many aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and more were on hand, but many, many more were not able to make it.

 

 

It is a bit strange to be a part of such a huge extended family on Kathy’s side, my own family does not have nearly the number of branches on the family tree and we seemingly seldom get together other than for weddings and funerals. After attending this fun reunion, I wish that my family would be more proactive about getting together but until that happens, I guess I will just have to enjoy every chance to spend time with family whenever it happens.