Yesterday, October 22nd of 2022, we had a family reunion. This was a gathering of people from the Nicholas family, trickling down from Grandaddy W.B. Nicholas. He was my daddy’s daddy and at this reunion, two of his children were present… Aunt Jane Wall and Aunt Gracie Fewell. The rest were other descendants and spouses, significant others, etc. This thing that stood out to some of the older cousin’s group was the number of little kids running around. It was a welcome sight!
Along with this “new life” influence was the realization that so many of our number have passed on into eternity. I specifically remember having that discussion with one cousin, Regina, as we touched on the idea that we were “next in line” as oldest in our specific family tree branches. This idea certainly does give you a different point of view about life, family, and our responsibility to future generations of Nicholas’.
Sadly, as we gather, we must admit that there is often an uncomfortable undercurrent of disconnectedness. Don’t get me wrong, we are not alone in this as Nicholas’. I think it is likely a common issue within families today, especially in the Western world. Our technology has improved some aspects of life while it has eroded other, more important aspects. As old fashioned as this may sound to some of you, I long for the days when we ALL made time to meet at Grandaddy Nicholas’ house for special occasions, holidays, and such. I remember those days when we would have a BIG crowd at the old homeplace, eating out on a table in the front yard, playing, listening to tall tales from our elders, and seeing Grandaddy smile with his family all around him.
In those days, we had no cell phones, tablets, or 75″ OLED TVs. We had each other, we had family ties, we had a simpler, deeper connection and we knew who everybody was! Oh, I could tell tales 🙂 I remember as a child when all Grandaddy had was a “tube” type radio and everyone cooperated when he wanted to try and tune in the Grand Ole Opry to listen to old-timey country and western music. Yessir, I remember the taste of cold well water and drinking it out of an old metal dipper. That water was so cold, it would make your teeth hurt sometimes when you drank from that old dipper. Well, I could go on and on about childhood memories, but I’ll stop here – for the time being.
Back to the here and now. It was a good day and God blessed us with fair weather and a nice place to meet for lunch. To my family, God bless you… I love you all. May the younger group of cousins try to stay connected as the years go by. Family is important. Amen.
Here are a few photos that I took at our reunion.
