家庭团聚意义.docVIP

家庭团聚意义 　　这是一篇文字非常朴实的博文，此时此刻却引起了我的强烈共鸣。家庭团聚在现代人眼里是个多么奢侈的字眼。Jed Diamond用纯实无华的文字告诉我们how important we all are to each other。很多年后，当我们回想起亲人只是相聚在婚礼或是葬礼上时将是一种悲哀却又无法挽回的遗憾。 　　 　　I grew up in a very small family. I’m an only child. My mother had one sister who never had children. My father’s side of the family is large, but since he left when I was six years old, I never grew up around uncles, aunts and cousins. When Carlin and I got together, I married into a very large family that has gotten together over the years for family reunions. I never understood the value of these reunions until recently. 　　We just got back from a weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains where our cousin Randy hosted this year’s reunion. It was held at the Walden West Outdoor Science School where Randy volunteers. 　　We arrived Friday just as the last group of kids was getting ready to leave. Each year there seem to be more people at the reunion. Each year one of the elders is missing because they didn’t want to make the trip or had passed away. Each year there are a few more babies and the youngsters seem to have grown a foot taller. 　　More than anything though, each year reminds me how blessed we are to be alive, to live in this wonderful country, and to be part of an extended family of friends and relatives. We never do anything spectacular at the reunions. We just eat together, talk, catch up on our lives, and share our love for each other. 　　Carlin and I have five grown children and ten grandchildren. Since they live in different places, it’s rare that we are all together in one place at one time. We usually visit them in small groups. This year was no exception. My son was there with his girlfriend. My daughter Angela was there with her three children. For the first time the children’s father, Walt joined us. 　　That’s another interesting thing about family reunions. In this day and age, we have families that extend in unique ways. Angela and Walt are no longer together, but they still paren