family reunion, losing my voice and a car airconditioner that does not cool
Family reunions were never a big deal for me since I really could just barely stand spending time and talking with some of my closest blood relatives (mostly on my dad's side)...don't get me wrong, I care about all of them and in fact, a few are my best friends but there is a bunch that I really have nothing in common with and have a totally different value system so that being around them makes reunions a path to sanctification for me ;) But with the death of the two in-laws (all on my mother's side), family get-togethers were the norm for the past two weeks and I found myself going from one relative to another for lunch or dinner. I have not seen some of these relatives for a long time, others arrived from Canada or the U.S. so that even though I was not one to initiate a reunion, it is during occasions like these that I am more conscious of the importance of family ties especially for those of us who are now in our mid-life. Most families lose touch with their cousins a