Talk, Talk, Talk

I had all of these (grand) plans when I was taking pictures after my grandma's funeral that I would come home and just blog out all of my thoughts over the next week. Instead I did a bunch of no-blogging and the posts I'd planned in my head are coming out as I can fit them in between everything else.

On Sunday after church everyone who had come into town for the funeral gathered at the Farm. We ate lunch, and then as is our tradition, we sat and talked.

One year many years ago one cousin brought her fiance to the Farm for a family reunion. (I think this was back in the days before the family outgrew the farm so completely and we moved the reunion to the beach.) When the fiance returned home his mom was excited to hear about the Watson reunion. She was supposed to help with her family's reunion and knew that we Watsons had been holding successful reunions for many years. She was ready to pick her son's brain to find out what our secret was--she figured we must have some great organization and activities. And so she asked him, "What do the Watsons do at their reunion?" And he told her, "They sit and talk." She didn't get it, and so she asked again, "Yes, but what do the Watsons do at their reunions?" And he answered again, "They sit and talk." By this point she was frustrated, and she said "But what activities do they have at their reunion???" It was then that he told her the truth. We really don't do anything. We really do sit and talk. But we mix it up a little. We sit and talk in this group for a while, and then we migrate over to that group to see what they're laughing so loudly about and talk with them for a while. And then we realize that we're missing out on whatever discussion is going on in the living room and so we move on over there to check that one out. Later a big group might sit out on the back porch and listen to the bug zapper killing friendly insects and hopefully a few mosquitoes. Always talking, talking, talking. It is wonderful.

Here is a picture from maybe 15 years ago of my Aunts, Grandma, and mom
sitting around talking in Grandma's room.

One of the things that happened this year while we were sitting and talking was that my Aunt Pam, Grandma's only surviving daughter, brought out all of Grandma's necklaces. Grandma loved jewelry and she had quite a collection of beads. Aunt Pam wanted everyone to take one of Grandma's necklaces to remember her by. I was lucky enough to get two the same to bring home to my little girlies. I love that as they wear them (for dressup, I'm sure) they will be able to remember that those belonged to their great grandmother. Here's a picture of all of us modeling Grandma's beads. And if the proportions of the picture look a little strange, it's because they are. We are standing in the dining room that was originally a back porch. When the back porch was built they just continued the slant of the roofline on down. Neither of my grandparents were tall people so it wasn't a problem for them, but I'm sure my brother in law who is 6.5 feet tall can't stand up in there!

Before we left the Farm that evening we all wanted my dad, who is a chiropractor, to adjust us. I think he liked thinking that he had me under his thumb...or elbow....

And here is a picture with my sisters Laila and Margaret before it was time for them to fly out--we really had a great weekend escape together!