Celebration brings family together

She doesn’t need any more toys, my sister-in-law, Sue, told me when I asked what to get for her granddaughter’s birthday. 

That ruins that idea. Bah, humbug.

We have been invited to Mackenzie’s first birthday party. She is the youngest of the next crop of babies and her mom, Margaret, is Sue’s youngest daughter. I was looking forward to shopping for toys for Mackenzie and her big sister, Isabella. So what if they don’t need any more toys? But we will reluctantly abide by Sue’s and Margaret’s wishes.

Clothing is another category of gifts that has been vetoed as Mackenzie has inherited an entire wardrobe that is too small for big sister Isabella.

I don’t expect either child to recognize us as we haven’t been down that way since Isabella had her own first birthday. We are using the event as a chance to see relatives that we only see at weddings and funerals.

Like many families, we are spread across several states. We started out in Ohio where some of us still live. Virginia, Texas and Indiana also are home to several members of the family. The drive to the closest one of my immediate family is just over 100 miles. Akron and Cincinnati take several hours, Virginia takes the better part of the day to drive and Texas tops them all for distance. Coordinating everybody’s schedule is challenging, to say the least. Is it any wonder that we don’t meet in person very often?

Despite the ban on playthings, we are looking forward to the trip. It has been awhile since we have gone anywhere that didn’t involve doctors or groceries. I suppose that is the price we pay for getting older.

I am looking forward to seeing the little ones we have only met on Facebook. I like looking at their pictures and hearing about their exploits but nothing beats seeing someone in person. Pictures capture moments but real life is better. Real life tells us the story behind the photograph and makes it so much more meaningful when we flip through the prints at a future date.

Neither funeral nor wedding, but a birthday for a little girl will bring us together for a few short hours before we all scatter again. We will spend the time together to catch up on the parts of our lives we don’t share online. We will promise ourselves that we will get together again soon, knowing full well that it will take another major event to rearrange our lives so that will happen.

After all the goodbyes have been said we will decide if it is better to attempt the long drive home or spend the night somewhere along the way. We will compare notes on the things we learned and begin many sentences with, “Did Sue tell you …” or “Did you know ...”  We expect to have an enjoyable time getting to hear what is going on in everyone’s lives.

We have a couple of weeks before we will embark on the long drive to meet Mackenzie and marvel at how much Isabella has changed since we last saw her when she was only one year old.

Maybe I can claim I didn’t get the message about not buying toys? Toys or not, the visit promises to be an enjoyable day for all involved.