How Good and Pleasant

I grew up in a family of four brothers. Three of us, and our wives, just finished spending the weekend together.

Our family has always been close – thankfully, no major drama or fights. I’m very grateful for that, and I think my brothers would say the same. And in spite of the fact that we used to squabble and fuss as kids, since we became adults, we all pretty much like each other, and enjoy each other’s company.

But still, it’s easier to stay apart than get together. That’s no one’s fault – it’s just the way it is. We grew up in Southeast Texas, between Beaumont and Orange, and our dad still lives in the home we grew up in. But I live in Abilene now. One of us lives in Lewisville, north of Dallas. The other two live north of Houston, in the Spring/Tomball area. We all have jobs, kids, in-laws; some have kids that are married now, and some have grand-babies starting to come along.

So, all of that to say, we are all very busy, as just about everyone is these days.

But this past January, when we were all together and doing some work at our dad’s house, we talked about finding a way to try and gather for a weekend. After a lot of emails and text messages, we found there wasn’t a perfect time to make it happen, but we settled on a date that seemed like the best compromise with the fewest conflicts and said, “Y’all come.”

Unfortunately, one of our brothers and his wife couldn’t join us this time, and we missed them, but the rest of us had a great time. We talked and laughed and grilled hamburgers. And talked. And laughed. And we reminisced about our childhood and shared memories and swapped lies, and played ping-pong and dominoes, and made chicken and dumplings with a recipe that was pretty close to our grandmother’s version. And we went to church together and had communion together. And talked. And laughed.

And – we began making plans to do it all again, next year.

Families matter. So let me respectfully suggest that you get together with yours. Pick a date, pick a location, send the word. Those who can be there, please don’t have any anger against those who can’t, and those who can’t shouldn’t harbor any resentment against those who can. Keep it simple, and have fun.

How many times have we all stood around at funerals and said, “Gee, it’s a shame someone has to die for everyone to drop what they’re doing and come together. We should plan a family reunion sometime.” Unfortunately, that’s as far as it gets sometimes.

As for me, I’m looking forward to the next time our bunch can do this. We’re busy trying to pick a location and set a date for 2016. We’re going to plan it far enough out so that everyone can come this time, including kids, grandkids, in-laws, out-laws, and the whole kit ‘n’ kaboodle.

It will be here before we know it.