We Are Family...

Last weekend, Anita and I headed back west for the weekend. It was time for the annual Derr Family Reunion, which is the reunion of the family springing forth from my paternal grandmoter’s siblings (my Dad’s Mom, for the remedial readers among us). Gram had 7 brothers and sisters, and though none are with us anymore, the family continues to get together at least for this one time a year.

Truth be told, while I enjoy this time with my extended family, it makes me realize how little I know a lot of them. I have 2nd cousins and 3rd cousins that I only see once a year, or every couple of years, if I’m lucky. In today’s information age, you would think this would be easier. But sometimes, it’s not. However, when those times come when we are together, we know that we have family in common, and that seems to transcend the voids created by our physical distance.

It was a very good weekend, right up until we got stuck on the PA Turnpike for almost 2-1/2 hours because of a very serious accident a few miles ahead of us. I found out later that the turnpike was shut down for almost 90 miles in both directions because of the accident. When we passed the accident scene, the rubble that was left was a clear indication that something very bad had happened. I’m still amazed that, given the amount of vehicular carnage that we passed, no one was killed according to the reports the next day.

This afternoon, we head to Rehoboth Beach with Anita’s parents and sister. While I certainly don’t mind spending time with the crew, I really don’t care for the beach at all. I’m just not a beach person. I am thoroughly disturbed when I am ankle-deep in the water and I can’t see my toes. I’m alarmed when scores of jellyfish wash up on shore. I’m not a huge fan of scalding hot sand pressed against the soles of my feet. But I’ll probably be able to get my usual 3 books read by Sunday, which is good – I have some books to catch up on before I can move on to some new material. As long as the weather holds out, it shouldn’t be too bad. I don’t mind the boardwalk and the outlets (to a point), but if I never stepped foot on the sand, I really wouldn’t mind at all.

So, until next week…