Family, is there anything more important?

This weekend my sister, Gay, and I worked together on our family and friends reunion set for May 11-12. This Gathering is for the descendants of Coy Lee and Lois Robison Council, both born in the early 1900s. We have invited relatives and friends who are not direct descendants, but who have touched our lives. 

I am happy that my husband's brother's children are coming and will bring their children. Family members are bringing friends to spend the weekend at the lovely resort where we will gather. We have a new baby in the family and I look forward to meeting him for the first time. 

Jon Beall on Silver, the greatest little pony ever

We have a cousin from New Port Richy,  FL who is making the drive. She is special to me. We don't see each other often, but when we do we love to talk and laugh together. Her mother and her grandmother were close to our family. Some of my fondest recollections from my youth was when Aunt Annie and Vivian visited  They brought music and laughter with them. In those days when there was no TV gobbling up everyone's time, the family sat around the supper table and talked. Afterward, Aunt Annie would play guitar and sing. Vivian, her daughter harmonized beautifully. I was very young at that time, but I remember the haunting ballads and the funny, clever songs they sang.

Gay and I have gone through boxes and albums of old photos, and I must have scanned and posted over one hundred for a slide show presentation. Seeing those pictures brought back so many wonderful memories and also brought back the sadness of losing my brothers and my sister, June. Once we were seven.

Glenda and Gay, sisters, who can accomplish almost anything together

Now only three of us remain and my last brother is in very serious condition. I tell him he must be there for The Gathering to tell us one of his wonderful stories. He wants to be there and I pray he will be able to come.

Family of storytellers

My family has always been full of stories and we have always had good story tellers to share them. As I get older I understand even more how precious family is to us. No matter how much we might have disagreed or argued over things we thought were important, the love we have for each other is all that really matters. I talked with my brother today and missed that happy, pleasant man I've always known, I heard the weakness in his voice, the concern for his health, and the appreciation he has for those who help him. A thoughtful relative brought food. His sons are trying to make his life as easy as possible by setting up a hospital bed downstairs for him. Everyone is worried.

I was there a few days ago and wish I could be there to care for him, but we live miles apart. He said my visit made him feel better. I hope so. It made me feel better to see him, to go with him to his doctor, to talk with his sons and try to help them as best I could. 

Life is short

I hope if you are estranged from a loved one, a brother or sister, a parent, you will reach out to them and forgive them if they have hurt you, because, in the big scheme of things, is that what really matters? Even if they don't forgive and forget, you will feel better knowing you have. 

Writers Circle - Where writers will feel at home.

April is almost here and my new studio is almost ready for visitors. We will hold the first class on Tuesday, April 6, at 10:00 a.m. New tables and chairs are in place for the students. My carpenter promised me he would be back to exchange an overhead lighting fixture and to replace the pet door panel that has outlived one dog but is about to be dumped into the trash. That pet door is an eyesore in my otherwise lovely room. The old carpet has been torn out and new wood flooring brightens up the place.

Mary Mike is making curtains and a table cover for the studio. I spent yesterday dusting off books and replacing them in categories on my bookshelves. My biggest treasure find while remodeling is the folding screen I have set up to divide my office from the classroom. I'll make a photo of it and share it with you.

"Who are You and Why do You Write" is the title of the first class. I'll teach at least one class per month  throughout the spring and summer. Guest instructors will teach, also. On Saturdays we'll offer poetry classes and self publishing classes as well as Spiritual Writing and creative writing.
Rosemary Royston will teach a class on Humor in Poetry. She writes delightful poems, and I look forward to sitting in on that session.
Mary Mike Keller will teach a three session course including genealogy with writing about ancestors. That's a subject I love, also.
Estelle Rice, author of a poetry chapbook, Quiet Times, will also teach a class for Writers Circle, the name of my studio and the name of the writing program.
Joyfully, I look toward a new beginning - teaching, taking classes with other writers, working with instructors, and meeting many new and interesting people.
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If you live in the area of Ashville, NC, be sure to put June 4 and 5 on your calendar for the Blue Ridge Bookfest. I'll be there and we hope to have our anthology done and on display by then.

Ancestors

I want to share this poem by my 8th cousin, Mary Michelle Keller. She is deeply into genealogy and found we have the same lines in our background. Before we knew we were cousins, we were friends. Barry called her "Cuz."

Ancestors
Census copies strew across my desk
keys that fit rusty locks of remembrance
yield up the flesh of those long dead

I am the keeper of their stories
gathered from dusty history book
records of birth, death and probate

They sailed on ships of cholera
some for adventure, others respite
all for new beginnings, for freedom

The adversity they left followed
some died only to have just begun
others survived to plant their seed

I am here because of them
I will not let them lie in obscurity
I will raise them and remember.

                Mary Michelle Brodine Keller