Looking Forward

Reunions are special for a lot of reasons. You get to meet people you’ve never met before, reconnect with family you haven’t seen in years, and enjoy food you don’t usually get to eat. Everyone usually comes with something they’re looking forward to when family from so many different walks of life comes together.

It’s funny how those first connections happen when you arrive. Most of us tend to stay close to the people we came with. Then we talk to someone we already recognize, then someone else who feels familiar, and eventually we meet the people we don’t know at all. It’s interesting because that behavior is something we’ve done since grade school. Some people are more quiet and reserved, while others are more outgoing. The funny thing is that even though you may feel like you’re talking to strangers, we’re all family, but on the flip side, I guess being family doesn't necessarily stop you from being a stranger.

Hopefully, starting with this reunion, we can begin to change that.

I’m looking forward to making new connections and seeing how our similarities and differences all come together to tell the bigger story of who we are as a family. I’m looking forward to seeing family not as strangers, but as part of a legacy that I can appreciate and lift up.

I’m looking forward to the laughs and walking (no longer running…LOL) down that hill on Thomas Road—the one I first saw when I was four years old. I’m excited to be honest enough to admit when I don’t know someone, then being brave enough to meet them. I’m excited to see the next generation of kids running on the same land I used to visit when I was kid myself.

Oh yeah… and I definitely plan to eat really good too.

What about you? What are you looking forward to?