Dad and Mom would have loved it!
Today I got to spend some fabulous time with my family down in Adrian ND at my brother Terry's home. Although the day was a bit chilly and windy, the day was perfect.
When we were growing up - or rather, when I was growing up - we used to have family picnics out on the farm every August. My father's birthday is August 9th, and my sister-in-law's birthday is on the 5th. We (ok, me) would spend hours mowing the lawn and making sure it was ready for the picnic. Mom would be frying chicken by the roasters full starting at dawn, and everyone would start piling in to the farm in the morning even though we didn't eat until 1 pm. There would be mom's fabulous potato salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, cakes, bars, scrumptious fried chicken and anything else that mom thought would be fair game. We never ran out of food! We'd spend the day hanging out talking while the guys would play a bit of horseshoe. The kids would be playing with the dog and kittens or running around exploring the farm. My niece Shelly (who is actually a year older than me) and I would play Barbie - and in later years discuss our latest crushes, the new movie we just had to see or the newest music to listen to.
It was family time...and Dad and Mom loved it!
Today brought back those memories. Terry and Marna opened up their home to us. Their lawn was immaculate and the garage was ready for the onslaught of family members to file in. And we did, car by car. We deposited our food items on the growing buffet table, parked our coolers in the corner, grabbed a cold one as we unfolded our lawn chairs and proceeded to get down to the business of catching up.
We laughed over those "stupid little things" both past and present that make us want to cringe. We ate too much food but still went back for more. We drank and we drank some more. The ladies and kids went in search of the five little kittens while the guys went to check out the deer stand down by the river.
It was a beautiful day of family...in celebration of what would have been dad's 98th birthday and Pearl's (we never tell a lady's age!).
And Dad and Mom would have loved it!
When we were growing up - or rather, when I was growing up - we used to have family picnics out on the farm every August. My father's birthday is August 9th, and my sister-in-law's birthday is on the 5th. We (ok, me) would spend hours mowing the lawn and making sure it was ready for the picnic. Mom would be frying chicken by the roasters full starting at dawn, and everyone would start piling in to the farm in the morning even though we didn't eat until 1 pm. There would be mom's fabulous potato salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, cakes, bars, scrumptious fried chicken and anything else that mom thought would be fair game. We never ran out of food! We'd spend the day hanging out talking while the guys would play a bit of horseshoe. The kids would be playing with the dog and kittens or running around exploring the farm. My niece Shelly (who is actually a year older than me) and I would play Barbie - and in later years discuss our latest crushes, the new movie we just had to see or the newest music to listen to.
It was family time...and Dad and Mom loved it!
Today brought back those memories. Terry and Marna opened up their home to us. Their lawn was immaculate and the garage was ready for the onslaught of family members to file in. And we did, car by car. We deposited our food items on the growing buffet table, parked our coolers in the corner, grabbed a cold one as we unfolded our lawn chairs and proceeded to get down to the business of catching up.
We laughed over those "stupid little things" both past and present that make us want to cringe. We ate too much food but still went back for more. We drank and we drank some more. The ladies and kids went in search of the five little kittens while the guys went to check out the deer stand down by the river.
It was a beautiful day of family...in celebration of what would have been dad's 98th birthday and Pearl's (we never tell a lady's age!).
And Dad and Mom would have loved it!
My sister Pat, sister-in-law Pearl, and brother Ron
My brother Terry, sister Pat, and sister-in-law Pearl
Me and my niece, Shelly
My sister Judy and her oldest son, Glenn
Comments