Family Reunion

My wife and I have 3 daughters.  My mother lives with my sister and her family. The 9 of us live in 5 cities across 3 countries. This week we all gather in the city where my mother is. It does not happen very often.  We all have busy lives and constraints.  We live in a complicated world.  

My wife and I run with our eldest daughter. We talk. We laugh. We share stories. 

We look at old photographs that grandma has kept for many decades.  Including that of one of my father’s pet parrots, which could talk.  She would call when the phone rings, confusing a lot of people.  Sometimes she was left alone.  When someone knocks on the door, she would answer.  And visitors wonder why no one came to the door.  Such memories gave us so much fun.  

Very rare photos of our very young selves.  In those days we were poor and cameras were expensive items inaccessible to us.  

We eat, of course.  A Chinese family gathering revolves around food.  One of which is a giant 4 pound lobster which resulted in 3 very different dishes.  The liver was steamed with eggs.  The meat in the tail chopped up into big chunks.  The head and claws breaded and deep fried.  It tasted so good.  We had durian, mooncake, …

We resolve to make these gatherings more often.