On Sunday we went to a birthday party for Gary’s uncle Bob in Cottonwood, AZ. I had a great time reconnecting with some family members we don’t see often. I found it quite joyful. Some live out of state, some in the next town over from us. One gentleman said to me, “I have not seen you in a while”. When I remarked that we live within a 30 minute drive, he said his brother lives a mile from him and they only see each other once a year. Everyone agreed it was wonderful to have a family gathering that was not a funeral. Gary’s mom was one of eight siblings of which 3 are alive. The family went through a period where we were attending one funeral after another.
Gary and I decided that we will make a real effort to get out of the pattern of not visiting family. There’s something deeply primal and natural about being with family.
Here are a few photos:
Dagny's Desk 
GrannyJ said:
Family get-togethers can be really cool. When Mom moved up to Prescott, she looked up a grandniece in the Flagstaff phone book & we had four sisters we’d never met who came regularly to Mom’s birthday parties.I used to have a lot of family down in the Phoenix area, but the non-funeral deaths have thinned things out considerably. We used to have family thanksgivings and Christmas with a gang of relatives. Loved it!