Summer Hurrah!

August 21, 2011: I am a girl driven by tradition. I like nothing better than driving down the old streets, playing the familiar games, eating the comfort foods, singing the songs for the 100th time, hugging the people that have known me every day of my life. This weekend I got to do just that at the Passey Family Reunion, and it was marvelous. Last year when my aunties asked if our branch of the family would be in charge in 2011, I had no inkling what would happen over those next 12 months and how our family would stretch and pray and cry and pray and laugh and pray and bond and pray... Prayer got us through to this point and I am proud of our whole big family.

Mom and Troy arrive Thursday afternoon, and Chelsea and her family pull in that evening. My cute little grands are so excited, even if it is just to be out of their car seats after that long drive. Baby Knox has grown chubbier, Olive is a whirlwind who heads straight to the candy jar, and Lachlan greets me with a huge hug around my legs before asking if he can play the Wii. We visit for a little bit, but soon head to bed, knowing the next day will be full of more traveling and some Bear Lake water time.

The next morning we meet Dionne's kids coming from Lehi and Troy goes to Salt Lake to pick up Travis. Aaron is working and has a company party tonight, so he and Lindsey and the girls will come to Idaho in the morning. Our car is packed to the brim. There is just enough space in the backseat for Janessa and she is sad that she can't see out the opposite window because of blankets and sleeping bags (you see, this isn't just one trip to the reunion - this is also a trip to the Boynton cabin in the Uintahs!). We make a caravan of cars and go through the regular Davis County traffic into a 90 second cloudburst around Layton that gives our wipers a good workout, and then make the wide bend into Brigham City. I see the new temple for the first time, the spires reaching to heaven. Beautiful. We lose radio reception around Mantua, so Ness turns on her iPod and we bounce to her favorite bands. Troy wants to go to the cheese factory and the Stephensons want to visit Anna (and Bob) in Logan, so we part ways for a bit. I'm a sucker for curds, so we follow Troy and run into construction and detours. That's life, isn't it? Always something to make you pay attention. Inside the store, we huddle around the tasting table, shoving crackers & spread and new flavors of curds in our mouths. Mmm. I grab a bag of our favorites, Ness gets a yummy oatmeal cookie ice cream bowl, and we're back on the road. We meet up with Chels at the rest stop on top of the hill before the canyon and are back in our caravan with Troy and Travis in Mom's vehicle and Mom driving the Burton car. The canyon is pretty, but hot. We crank up the A/C. We follow a slow-moving RV for a while, but are soon able to pass him. Our first glimpse of Bear Lake makes me smile. This is tradition! I've heard it called the "Caribbean of the Rockies", and it is gorgeous. Everyone is in awe at how high the water is. In some places, it's up to the road. No mile-long hike to the beach this year! We stop for raspberry shakes (of course - another tradition!) and a quick lunch and then we're off to North Beach. It's crowded. We drive for a while and finally squeeze in where we can find a spot to set up our chairs and umbrella. The water is literally 20 steps (or less) from our car. I love it. I don my hat, grab my water bottle and camera, and start blowing up plastic mats for the kids to float on. Everyone swims except me, Mom, and Ky, and we are perfectly content in the shade. Olive is not sure about the lake - she squeals and screams if asked, "Do you want to go in?" But I catch her playing with Papa Dean in the shallows - he's got both her hands and is swinging her back and forth, her legs dragging in the water - and she's smiling. Lachlan is happy to build sand castles with Audrey. Ness and Gentry and Jed take the mats and float out until they are dots in the distance. Troy and Travis play water Frisbee and skip rocks. Chels dips Knox in the water, and then I snuggle him until he falls asleep. Rob puts on goggles and dives like a dolphin. Later, when the kids start attacking the snack bags, we know it's time to head to the motel to clean up and get ready for dinner.

After another long wait for construction (blahhh), we reach the Clover Creek Inn, the traditional place Dad liked to stay. Mom gives the desk clerk her last name and the girl says, "Oh, I've got an Yvonne Passey." Wow! Yvonne is coming? We each peel off to our own rooms to shower and sprawl out on the beds for a minute. Dinner is at the Ranch Hand, of course, and I go for my usual Cowboy Omelet with pancakes. The table is loaded with food. A few minutes of silence as we all take the first bites. Yum. So glad I can taste!! This was worth waiting for!

The morning begins (after a semi-sleepless night) with me warming up pulled pork in two crockpots. Soon, our room smells like a BBQ joint. And then I look at the sky. It's dark and threatening. Rain starts. Not just a little sprinkle, but a drenching, thunderous, lightning-splitting storm! And it's Bear Lake COLD. Jeddy has to go to King's for a jacket, so we all join him (another tradition). I worry a little, but I know we have a Plan B for the church. It will be okay. When we come back from King's (and a drive down Woodlawn Ave and the old Bartschi place, plus a side trip to the old 4th ward chapel that Chels wants to take a picture of), suddenly I see a familiar face, whooping and hollering across the parking lot of the motel. It's my sister, Laura! She has come all the way from Arizona with Yvonne to be at the reunion! It's the best surprise ever. We drive to Georgetown and decide the rain and the wind and the cold are better left outside, so we will set up the reunion inside the church. I get teary passing Grandma & Grandpa's farm. They are my family. They are my heritage. My daddy grew up here, along with all his brothers and sisters. Someday we will all be together again in one place. I hope they will get to glimpse the gathering today.

The reunion is a success. I love my cute aunts and uncles. I love my cousins, too, though some I don't recognize any more unless someone points them out. We have a bond and it's tough and unbreakable, in spite of age and sickness and distance and life changes. I think all those who know about my struggle this year are relieved to see me in the flesh - they see that I am doing well, that I feel good, that I have energy, that my hair is growing and my right cheek isn't as puffy as it used to be, that I'm eating again, that my scar is barely noticeable, that I can smile and laugh and I have joy. It's a relief to them, as it has been to all of us. They see that Mom is okay after her heart surgery and she is happy. They see that we are survivors, ALL of us, every one, and it is good. We share good food, memories, even a few rounds of Bingo. We take pictures that say, "Look, I was here!" I am content.

After the reunion, Mom and Troy and the Burton kids head back to Salt Lake, while us Boyntons head south for another session of Bear Lake water therapy and some time at the cabin. We pull off the side of the road on the south end of the lake and change into suits. The water is cold, but Aaron and Robby and Janessa and Ally swim out to their waists and go underwater to check out the cool rocks. We all wish we had brought water shoes, especially Lachlan, who has a hard time staying up on the slippery rocks. Again, we break out the snacks, which keeps Avery and Jane and Olive happy, and Olive & Jane watch the "ruff-ruff"/"dogs" romping on the shore. Robby finds the remains of a floppy, shredded dead fish, and suddenly the water isn't as inviting. We stop for a(nother) raspberry shake and head over the mountain to the Uintahs. Dinner is fast food in Evanston, followed by a rainy drive to the cabin. It's dark when we arrive, but we are happy to see the place. After we unload our cars (again), we play a game of "Ticket to Ride" (Lindsey should have won, but some little person lost a couple of her blue trains) and then it's off to bed. The air is cool, but some of the rooms are hot. Aaron says they slept better once they opened a window. I think of Cal and Janice the whole time. I'm sure they were there, just as Dad & Uncle Harold & Aunt Leda & Newell & Mary were at the reunion. It's only natural to feel them in the places and with the people they love.

The next morning, it's a bike ride for big and little people. Those bikes and racks have traveled a LONG way just for this moment. Dean and I walk to the road with them, and as we start to head back to the cabin, we hear the first "accident" cry from Lachlan. He only learned to ride a 2-wheeler FOUR days ago! Bless him. They're gone long enough for me to pull myself together a bit and come back winded and glowing with the fresh air. We drive down to the long-abandoned beaver ponds. It's fun to watch Aaron & Chels explore their old haunts and reminisce about what they remember. They see things with grown-up eyes, but they want it to be like it was in their childhood. I can relate. That's how I've felt all weekend in the Bear Lake valley.

I revel in the little ones playing together, in Robby's new-found love for the cabin, in laughter and smiles and "remember this". There is a huge unsaid sigh that hangs in the air when we leave. We know we want to return often, but will we?

An exhausting, exciting, stressful, rejuvenating weekend from beginning to end. Bottom line - I love my family and my heritage and my roots and my wings. I love being a daughter and granddaughter. I love being a wife and a mother and a Grammy. I am reminded by events such as this that LIFE is beautiful. Living is hard sometimes, but LIFE is wonderful. Hurrah for summer and the traditions that bring hearts together. It's the best.