memories new and old

This has been a pleasant week - a ten day respite from work and wonderful family time! Every three years the Swarey family has a reunion and this time it was in Linden, Tennessee over Thanksgiving. We left a few days early and our whole family went to Shelby and Kait's to help work on their house. It was interesting having our 17 person group in their small house! We ladies cooked and helped unpack and set up the house while the men worked on hooking up appliances, doing electrical work, and framing up the carport to add an extra room. They have a nice setting in Henderson, Tennessee, and we had good times there!

Our reunion started with supper Wednesday evening. Out of the 138 descendants of Abe and Elsie Swarey, 134 attended. Our dear 86 year old grandmother Elsie is still with us, although not as active as she once was. She still sings beautifully and her stubborn streak is intact! On Thursday we had a time of sharing and one of the uncles had an interview with her about how it was for them coming out from the Amish. I learned some things I had never known before of how difficult and dark a time that was. Many people expressed their thankfulness for the decision our grandparents made. I wonder where we would all be if they had not broken away from their families and the faith they were raised in? It's evident their progeny have been blessed by our grandparents' willingness to follow God. I personally feel blessed to be a part of the Swarey lineage and am thankful we keep in touch the way we do. Nobody wants to miss these reunions because they are always filled with memories, laughter, beautiful singing, and good food.

The reunion was held at a Baptist conference center and fit our needs very well. It was one of the nicest places we've been to for a reunion, with the one exception of not having a kitchen at our disposal. Nevertheless, we managed to put on 5 meals and had 3 in the camp cafeteria. Thursday afternoon most of the group drove to Uncle Mel's shop for a demonstration of the original feed grinder that Grandpa and the uncles used to go around and grind feed for customers. As we watched the five uncles in their 50's work together to operate the machine, we could almost see them as young men in the prime of life. One of my cousins made a super neat barrel train and took the children for rides on the "reunion railroad". He dressed up as an old-time engineer and his "engine" blew out smoke and honked like a real train. The cars were decorated up like a UPS truck, fire engine, Case tractor, horse and buggy, and more! The kids loved it and I even took a ride in the buggy with one of my nieces!😄

These are some of the best times in life. It's a blessing to have a family that loves each other and enjoys spending time together. I'm so thankful for my grandparents and the heritage they gave us!