Family Reunion by Patricia Forsythe

Do you ever have a month where there’s so much going on that you have no time to catch your breath?  June was like that for me.  In spite of all my beforehand preparations, it was still crazy.

The best part was that my daughter-in-law presented the family with a gorgeous baby girl.  We had some scary, tense moments, but little Eleanor finally made her way into the world.  Her first accomplishment was to wrap her daddy around her teeny, tiny finger where I think he will remain for the rest of his life.

Although I hated to leave that baby, it was soon time to head to Oklahoma for the long-planned reunion of my late mother’s family.  Eleanor’s big sister, Madison, came along.  One drawback to visiting rural Oklahoma is that there are limited options for places to stay.  I chose a local inn where I’d stayed before, but instead of being inside the small hotel, I rented a cabin on the grounds. 

A person more generous than I would describe it as rustic.  I have to call it primitive.  Camping out is not what I consider fun.  In fact, my idea of 'roughing it' is single ply toilet paper.  However, my options were limited, so I stuck with the cabin even though I questioned my decision when the manager said with a smile,“If the door won’t open, just give it a kick.”  I already knew that the humidity in the area causes the wood of doors and windows to swell, but I wasn’t prepared for the wrestling match I was going to get in with that thing.  While the mosquitoes feasted hungrily on my sister and my granddaughter, I tried the key which turned easily in the deadbolt.  So far, so good.   I shoved.  The door didn’t move.  I shoved and kicked.  Still, no luck.  I applied my shoulder to the door while simultaneously kicking the bottom.  This had the effect of catapulting me into the room as if I’d been shot from an exploding volcano.  Luckily, I managed to stop myself before I collided with the refrigerator in the small kitchenette.  It was a relic of the 1950’s and probably wouldn’t have survived the assault.   

We hauled our bags inside and took stock of the situation.  The knotty pine-paneled cabin reeked of cedar and mildew and the bedding smelled sour.  I’m pretty sure mold was growing on the ceiling.  The furniture looked as though it had survived the Great Depression – or the Great Chicago Fire.  The bathroom and bedroom doors were too swollen to even come near to closing.  In spite of all that, the plumbing worked great and I had wifi of a sort.

In the long run, none of that really mattered.  Seeing my granddaughter playing with my uncle’s beagle puppies and experiencing fireflies for the first time in her life, chasing them through the dusk, is a sweet sight I’ll never forget.  Visiting with relatives I hadn’t seen in decades was a special joy.  Never mind that I sat and talked to one cousin for ten minutes before I realized she wasn’t the one I thought she was.  My fault for having dozens of first cousins.  Greeting people I hadn’t met before, and catching up with ones I’d known since infancy made me feel connected to the past.  It also made me miss my parents more than ever because I kept thinking how much they would have loved seeing everyone.

The entire month of June was fun and exciting with all the family things going on, but also a thrill for me because my first Harlequin Heartwarming book, Her Lone Cowboy, was released.  My author copies came the day before I left for Oklahoma so I took them along and handed out books to any relative who would take one.  Now it’s time to file those memories away and start the next book.  Maybe it will include a family reunion.

Patricia Forsythe is the author of many romances, both traditionally and electronically published.  Her current release is Her Lone Cowboy, a Harlequin Heartwarming novel released in June 2015.  Visit her at patriciaforsythebooks.com.

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