Ahhh, the family reunion.  An annual rite of passage for most families, you’ll often find the summer months as the “high season” for this type of extended family gathering.

Reunions are done in a number of ways, whether it be meeting up at a relative’s house for a picnic/barbeque or gathering everyone together for a big trip somewhere – say Disney World or getting a cabin together in the Great Smoky Mountains.

There tend to be two camps when it comes to reunions – those who love them and those who hate them.  As kids, the family reunion was something I was most often dragged to, as I had little interest in meeting a long-lost cousin of being peppered with questions and weird hugs from distant relatives I hardly knew.  However, as I grow older, I have come to appreciate these family events more and more.

As family matriarchs and patriarchs succumb to the ravages of age, more often than not the only time a family gets together is at a funeral home, which is undoubtedly the worst place of all to hold a family get together.  It’s far better to meet up under happier circumstances and create memories with each other that are far more joyful.  Sure there’s always one or two relatives that make a reunion memorable for other reasons, like the aunt who drinks waaaaaayyy too much Chardonnay or that odd uncle who the kids are warned to stay away from because he’s a little “handsy”, but all in all, as we grow older, we treasure these family relationships and the connections they bring to one another.

More often than not, we realize the importance of these relationships far too late, when age and illness prevent us from truly enjoying the time we have together.  Travel becomes more difficult, coordination becomes harder (due to family being scattered around the country or the world), and other factors.  We’ll see a cousin at the grocery store and say “we should get everyone together sometime soon.”  We’ll both nod, and then never do it.  What a shame.

So, the next reunion you get invited to, I encourage you to not only say “yes” and attend, but to embrace the experience and fully engage with those aunts, uncles, and cousins.  You may be surprised at how much you enjoy the experience.  Better yet, if there isn’t one planned, take the initiative and reach out to the family and get one scheduled.

Years from now, you’ll be glad you did.