Flem Fest 2008

My Mom's family reunion was this past weekend. Generally a good time. It used to be an every other year event -and people were happy to have it that way - until my uncle, or his new wife, one of the two, decided they needed to see the kin annually. Thus, the yearly trek to Akron (because it is now, apparently, always at my uncle's place).

At every gathering thus far, there has been some startling revelation. One year, it was that the brood of 9 had a half-sister (Hello Half-Aunt Dorothy, if you are reading). The next it was that my grandfather's name wasn't really William, it was George (although that is still under contest by some family members). No great revelations made this year, unless I missed them, but I did discover that my father can chase - and keep up with - a toddler while holding a beer. In my current phase of life, that counts as a marketable skill!

It was great to see my cousin Kate, the nearly-Broadway producer. She brought her new husband, Ted, who is CLEARLY "our people." I mean that in the best possible way. I guess it helps that he was introduced to us little by little. Only the older generation of Flemings was invited to the wedding. The entire onslaught of country cousins was on hand to greet him at Flem Fest and, I must say, our little Brooklyn design-geek held up well! He didn't startle when spoken to and made easy jokes with the rest of us. One never knows when a Fleming woman marries, what you are going to get. Check out The Show for more on that. I maintain that that is an anomaly. All the rest of us are Alpha Bitches (again, said with love).

If I have one regret it is that we had to leave too soon. My uncle insists on having the reunion at a park on a lake. Beautiful, yes. Toddler-friendly, HELL NO. Much of the time was spent with Osi or I chasing Jack and generally trying to keep him out of the water. Upon leaving, I asked my mother if, when i got home that evening, it would be too soon to send an announcement that Chez Zimmer would be hosting Flem Fest 2009. She thought so. Maybe next week.

I would love to have an extended bash, if only to spend more time with the cousins that I adore. I don't seem to get up to Akron to see Nikki or Jen nearly as often as I'd like and we all have our own lives, Kate is also quite grand and I would like to see her more often, too. As we get older, I hope we do make more time for one another. It's nice when you can consider your family your friends as well :)