Aug 26 2009
The Purpose of A Reunion
My sister created this. She grew the flowers. She arranged the flowers. She photographed it. Then she posted it on Facebook. Her friends gushed in the most heartfelt and genuine compliments, not only about how beautiful it is but all the other beautiful things she has made and the beautiful person she is.
When we were young girls, we sparred over the creative fields we each wanted to enter. When she announced she wanted to be an interior designer when she grew up, I thought to myself, and maybe even said out loud with one of those tones, “I wanted to do that; but now I can’t, because she’s going to do it.”
Today I’m sad to think that through the years of our upbringing (the only time we lived in the same town as each other) I couldn’t see that the world was big enough for us to both create beauty from our lives, even if it was doing the same thing.
When I saw this photograph on my Facebook feed I didn’t really know her talents, not like her friends did. I wished I could see her in her home—her setting—and see the beauty that radiates from her now.
At the same time, I was researching a place to hold an extended family reunion. I had asked my friend about the place her family used and that began a dialogue about the purpose of a family reunion. I spouted my opinions with confidence, as if I knew what a family reunion should accomplish.
But after I saw my sister’s flower arrangement, I formed a more humble opinion. Now, when I go to a reunion, I want to acquaint myself with who my family has become and love each one.
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