Family Reunion 2016

We just returned from a lovely three days at my family reunion in upstate NY. This is my mom's side of the family, and there are a lot of us – over 60 made the trip for at least part of the week! We only caught the second half, but I'm so glad we had that time together.

The reunion was held at Camp-of-the-Woods, a Christian camp/retreat center in the Adirondacks. It was such a relief to escape the August heat at home and find ourselves in the cool mountains on a beautiful lake:

Dave and I even got to take a canoe out on the lake for a few minutes, while my cousin Jennifer took care of M.:

There was time for chapel, musical performances, family sharing, and athletic events. Dave played some 2-on-2 with my cousins; while they all fortunately avoided serious injury, Dave reports that he had never felt so winded before. Let's just say that no one is getting any younger.

And of course, we were thrilled to introduce little Maddie to her relatives. When we first walked in, a horde of children descended upon her:

And simultaneously arose a parents' chorus of, "Do not touch! Do NOT TOUCH the baby! Hey, did you hear what I said? Put your hands down!" Hahaha! Maddie endured the adoration with equanimity. One of my favorite moments: she got to meet the oldest member of our extended family, my Auntie Grace's mother, who is over 90 and whom we all call Po Po. Immediately afterwards, she met Rebecca, Po Po's great granddaughter, who had previously been the youngest in our clan.

Rebecca was very friendly and immediately recognized a kindred baby, pointing at Maddie and leaning over to look more intently.

As much as I enjoyed our trip, it was a little challenging. We were trying to adhere to an external schedule (mealtimes, meeting times) for the first time, while adapting our sleep arrangements to a new environment. I also just didn't really know what I was doing – I pumped more often for bottles for M., but then my body got out of sync with her hunger, leading to a lot more discomfort; the weather was either too hot or too cold, and I didn't know how to dress her; I completely forgot to bring a cap for any of her bottles, etc. Maddie was pretty good, but she did have one evening of inconsolable screaming, which alarmed me to no end. Here she is after she calmed down, feeling comfortable with her grandpa:

Our next family reunion (apart from weddings) is likely four-ish years away. Imagine how different M. will be by then! I'm so glad everyone got to see her when she was just an infant. And even though it was a bit of a hassle to travel while she is so young, I think it was good for me. Yes, we got a little off-kilter because of the travel, I leaked breastmilk on my shirt in public, we all lost sleep, and felt totally exhausted at the end. But now I feel a measure of confidence: all those things happened, and we still survived! So maybe I can leave my safe cocoon and controlled environment with M., and even when things don't go perfectly, it's still all right. This whole first-time parent thing sure takes some getting used to!