“Families are not democracies.”
That’s from the American Academy of Pediatrics (!). So I guess the Kind family is normal after all. Dictatorship, socialist, a few moments of outright oppression: We had a wonderful family reunion in Hayward.
All 14 of us joined the fun. Of course we have an elder statesman, chairwoman, hero, scapegoat, maverick and plenty of junior members. Somehow, we all filled various roles throughout the weekend.
See? Don’t we look normal?
At the annual session wrap-up (just missing sleepyheads Allie and Julia; I don’t mess with 14-year-old girls on Sun. morning summer vacation days).
A new member
Since last summer, we’ve added a new delegate. Little Howie delighted us all!
“Yo, Matt. Bring me over there.”
Caucuses
Various subgroups broke into various committees to work on different projects.
Cara, Allie, Justin, Matty pooling their resources.
Diplomacy (and dictatorship) on the River
It’s become a tradition to spend some time on the nearby Namekagon River. Last year, we all tubed down. This year, sensing the lukewarm tone on that activity, Bro Dave leapt into action. “How about canoeing?” he said, plopping down a pile of brochures from his quick research. He got enough “yeah, sure”‘s to make the plan.
Hindsight is 20/20.
So, the outfitter told us two things:
1. We won’t let you go out after 3:00; even that can be pushing it on daylight.
2. The rafts are heavy to pull
Whatever, dude.
We got on the river at 3:15. We had one map, 3 fishing poles, bait, coolers full of beverages and of course life jackets. And we had that #1 survival tool: PMA. (Positive Mental Attitude)
It was a GLORIOUS day on this treasure of a river.
My baby bro Dave, loading up.
That’s us. Baby Sis Kris, Davey (“Why am I always flanked by you two?) and moi.
We followed a Bald Eagle part of the way, too.
Grandma Donna helps Matty with his river bass.
Who needs a boat? Strong-willed Cara (the child development specialists in my family say not to call her stubborn anymore) pretty much floated down the river.
Allison heard there are leeches in the river. So she perched on this rock during one of our stops.
A mild crisis
After about 3 hours, we hadn’t yet seen the landing where we were to exit. My arms were sore from paddling. We pulled over and I looked at our load: Cara had decided to ride on one of the rafts, tied to our canoe. That’s cool. But then I saw the raft was FULL OF WATER. It must’ve added 100 lbs! Good grief. One look at my brother’s face, and I knew he was nervous about making it in before nightfall, too. We’re 21 months apart. Heck, I’ve seen that “am I going to get home before <________>” many times, especially during our high school years. Truth be told, he had good reason to be nervous most of those times. So, while keeping panic at bay and glancing at the map:
We called John, the outfitter.
It was an indelible conversation:
Me: “Hey, so we’re at campsite #728. Are we close to the landing where you’re picking us up?”
John: laughing, “Hell, you’ve got about 6 hours left.” laughing
Me: “So are we close?”
John: laughing “Yeah, so I’ve already started drinking.” laughing “‘Guess I’m gonna have my wife pick you up.” laughing
John: “I told you not to leave so late. I told you those rafts would be heavy.” laughing “Yeah, so just call her when you get to that landing.” laughing
Dave the Dictator
Dave must’ve read my face (hey, I sometimes needed him to cover for me during our teenage years). He strided back to the river and assigned the strongest paddlers and made a few more edicts. No voting here.
Made it!
We did make it to the landing and John’s wife was there. It was still a little light (!), and we all laughed about our adventures, fishing, paddling, heavy rafts and (yep, Allie) leeches.
Nothing a little campfire won’t cure!
Back at the campground…
Blue-ribbon partisan showing
Last year, our dogs came in 2nd in the Pet Show. The eldest child (that would be me) gets a little fired up at competition. So we came prepared this year. And planning does pay. Allie and Cara commandeered the dogs to a tie for 1st place! (Thanks heavens they tied or it would have been a year of bragging ’round the house…)
Me with the little devil; Cara with our sweet flower.
We also celebrated the quad Aug/Sep birthday cousins!
Magical moment
As we watched the kids sing Happy Birthday to each other: dirty, hungry, smelling of chlorine and mini golf greens and truck ride hay, my very wise brother said it best. I’ll never forget his face lit by campfire and birthday cake candles, his words glowing with pride and love, “THIS is why you do it.”
Yes it is, President Davey. Yes it is.
Plus, democracy is overrated, eh?
What a tremendously delightful excursion, Elizabeth. You capture the essence of my joy in reflecting on the trip. Each family member at their best and interacting with each of the others in this fabulous clan. We willingly manage to downplay the what-could-be-big-and-bad situations as love and care for each other consistently rise to the surface and continue to abound. Good feelings, good thoughts, good exchanges reign supreme. We are each better, more fulfilled and happier given the time together and, indeed, clamor for more. This is a huge part of what makes further planning of times together so satisfying and possible for all: fun, laughter, some tears, new adventures mixed with reminiscence of former memories. Thanx for being you, Elizabeth. I repeat, I am so glad we continue to be part of each others lives. You enrich my life. I love you, Dad