Meeting/Reunion

I've been calling today's gathering east of Seattle a "mini family reunion," but since we'd never met most of the people there, that's not quite accurate.

Readers of this journal will recognize my adult children, W and his sister M, in the middle of this group, and our recent visitors from North Carolina, my cousin L and her husband B (green shirt), on the left.

New to us today were L's nephews, MW and JW (tall fellows in blue), MW's wife DW and their three children, and JW's wife JSW and their two Belgian Shepherds (Tervurens).

Those delightful children -- seven-year-old twin boys and their three-year-old sister -- are my first cousins twice removed. They live with their parents in Taipei, Taiwan most of the year, but visit their uncle and aunt (JW and JSW) most summers. I can't even begin to imagine what the world will be like when they're in their 60s, compared to today's world.

For now, a long afternoon of great food, unexpected intersections of interests -- particularly music and, for the women, genealogy -- and a desire to get together again is enough.