Reunions

This past weekend my family and I traveled to Mountain City, Tennessee for a Shull family reunion (my mom's side of the family). It was a great trip! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing family members that I had not seen in over ten years. There were also many family members I had never met before and I had trouble following where they sat on our family tree branches. But, it was great to know we were related nonetheless.

It is amazing to me how some families grow to include so many people and some family lines just dwindle away until there are none left. What touched me the most was watching how my maternal grandmother seemed to glow as she was surrounded by her closest relatives. She was able to meet her first great-grandson at the reunion, my nephew Caden, and I know that warmed her heart.

We took some time to walk around the grounds to my great-grandfather's childhood home which is still standing and is actually functioning as a home for one of my other family members. Even though it is in need of repair, I think it is so majestic and beautiful (it has 13 bedrooms!) On a side note, I learned that one of my distant relatives, "Aunt Dorothy", used to live on the same street where I now live in Nashville - just a few houses down! - many, many years ago. Amazing.

Last week I was also able to spend some time with my good friend, Megan, who is pregnant with her first baby. Our due dates are a couple of months apart. It was wonderful seeing her and catching up on everything in her life. I love visiting with old friends!

She is really not that much taller than me...

she's wearing high heel sandals and I am in my bare feet!