At the end of July I headed "home" to the US for the McConkie family reunion which was to be held in Nauvoo, Illinois, a small town of historical significance to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I bet you didn't know that Nauvoo was once the second largest city in Illinois following Chicago! That is, until the the "Mormons" as we are often called, were driven from the city after Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was killed. It was from Nauvoo that Brigham Young led the pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley. Having grown up in Illinois I've been to this historic town many times but it has been years since my last visit so I was looking forward to gathering with my family in a town where I have a rich heritage (many of my own ancestor made the trek by handcart to Salt Lake from Nauvoo).
I left Thailand on July 23 and arrived to D.C. the same day despite the fact that it was a 25 hour journey. I have to admit that I wasn't the most obedient of passengers as I was asked to lower my shade but the fascination of seeing a 12 hour sunrise (or was it sunset?) as I flew from Japan to the US was too enticing and led to my disobedience. The rays of the sun peaked over the horizon the whole way creating an elegant pink hue beautifully lining the atmosphere where earth met eternity.
I decided to fly into D.C. and spend a few days there to spend some time with a dear friend who had just bought a townhouse. The 24th was my birthday and she treated me like a princess with many of my favorite foods and the sheer delight of being reunited. We spent Monday and Tuesday shopping our pocketbooks empty. I had a list of things I had hoped to take back to Thailand with me and I knew this would be my only opportunity to shop. What fun it was and what terrific treasures we found, not to mention fantastic prices! Almost everything was crossed of my "to purchase" list.
Tuesday evening I met up with my "baby" sister Cynthia (sorry Cy, I know you hate being called that) and her family who were finishing packing and preparing to move to Utah. The plan was for me to make the 12 hour drive with them to Mom and Dad's house in Illinois. After a long night of packing and cleaning we loaded, or rather stuffed, the car as full as we could making every effort to save room for us who would be the passengers. I squeezed (in every sense of the word) into the back of the car along side 2 car seats which held my dear nieces ages 3year and 6 months and off we went. Making several stops along the way to readjust, rearrange and refuel (both the car and our stomachs) we finally drove up to my childhood home where we found the family already beginning to gather. Esther and Anna had arrived with their families and Ruth and company would be arriving by plane within the hour. And the fun began!
The next 2 days were packed with preparation and play. We made menus, shopped for groceries, went to the petting zoo, had facials, caught fireflies, swung on the rope swing, chatted, played and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Cynthia even dragged me out on a run around the corn and soybean fields. Each road along side the corn field is a mile long making our run a 4 mile square up and down the rolling hills. It felt good to be out in the fields listening to the music of the insects. They say if you're real quiet you can actually hear the corn grow.
Saturday morning we loaded up the motor home with all the groceries purchased and other reunion related items and began the 4 hour drive to Nauvoo where we would meet up with the remaining family members. All of my siblings would be there with the sad exception of Bryce as he was in the middle of a school semester and couldn't make it. In all we had 80 people in attendance. Yes, that is just my immediate family. Incredible.
I made the drive with Mom and Dad in the motor home and then unloaded the groceries with the help of Camille's family and whoever we could get our hands on. For the reunion we rented out a camp site with air-conditioned cabins for all our family and a nice big lodge where the kids could play, the adults could meet and we could feed the masses. The kitchen was a dream! It really was perfect for our family.
As families began to trickle in you could hear the squeals of cousins reuniting. Laughter filled the air and at times it sounded like everyone was talking at the same time...which they probably were. Joy was definitely our companion. Everyone got settled and at dinner time we called the multitude together for our opening ceremonies and meal.
The first question people ask me when I tell them about our reunion is, "how did you feed all those people!" The answer is that each family was assigned a meal. Anna and I had organized all the food by meal and posted the menus so whoever was in charge of the meal could easily find the ingredients and put together the simple meals that had been planned. At first we were concerned we hadn't purchased enough food for the crowd...there were a lot of big appetites among the growing children...but it turned out that we had PLENTY and enough to spare.
Saturday night we enjoyed a country fair in the historic town where we played games, walked on stilts and danced dances from the olden days and then watch the pageant which is put on every night during the summer months. We were there for the last performance. The pageant taught a bit of history of the town and it's occupants and lifted our hearts higher than they already were, if that is possible.
Sunday we went to church and then returned to the lodge for a family meeting where we were able to share our feelings and gratitude for the Savior Jesus Christ and the blessings God had given us. It was a sweet meeting as the children, teenagers and adults all shared their tender feelings. I was in awe of the sweetness of the souls my siblings have raised. We then witnessed the blessing of Cynthia's youngest baby. You see, in my church we don't baptize children until they reach the age of accountability which is 8 years old. But at a young age the children are given a blessing. It turned out that the local Bishop who came to preside over this blessing was a not too distant relative of one of my sisters in law. The world is such a small place.
Monday morning half of the adult family members went off to the temple and in the afternoon the other half of the adults went as well as the youth aged 12 and above. There is such a sweetness in the opportunity of worshipping in such a sacred place together as a family. Unity in faith is a powerful thing. As I went to the temple in the morning I volunteered for babysitting duty in the afternoon to allow my siblings the opportunity to attend the temple in the afternoon. I love it when babysitting means taking a nap with the children and then feeding them ice cream and playing games. That night we had an adult meeting where we talked together of concerns on our minds and listened to the words of our wise father who instructed us in ways to teach our children and strengthen our families. While I've not yet had the blessing of being a mother I have the privilege of being an aunt more than 60 times with a responsibility to help my siblings watch over their children and guide them through the challenges of life. I'm grateful for a dear, wise father who cares so deeply for his family.
Tuesday we started the morning early with a handcart trek. We pulled our carts over rugged terrain, through narrow passageways and open pastures while reflecting on the experiences our family members and fellow church members had as they were expelled from yet another city and forced to find freedom of religion elsewhere. We shared stories of our ancestors and read the placards placed along the path of others who also made the journey. Afterwards, went into the historic town of Nauvoo to see shows, homes, shops and relive the old days. I was surprised when, while watching one of the skits, several references were made to my ancestors, the Ashbys, who had lived in Nauvoo. Surprisingly the skit mentioned their big family and busy children. It made me laugh! I guess big families are just in our genes. In the evening, after roasting hot dogs in 100 degree heat we came together for a talent show. Some sang songs, others played instruments (banjos, violins, pianos, ukulele), some recited poetry, several did skits, dad played his harmonica and mom told a funny story putting us all in stitches as she usually does with her skits. It's impressive to see the talent in my family!
Wednesday was a sad day as we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a terrific several days of renewing family relations, meeting newborns and other recent additions and having a good time. I was so impressed with my nieces and nephews. To watch them play together without excluding a single person was inspiring. It is amazing to me to see how well my siblings have done in raising good children who are kind, smart and fun. There were no injuries, only a few sharing issues among the youngest children and Ruth and Anna did just a fabulous job of planning a terrific time! We are all looking forward to doing this again in 2 more years.
I've posted about a gazillion photos in my flicker account which you can browse through if you're interested but they are mostly meant for my family as you may find them boring. :-)
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