Family Renunion

This weekend we attended a family re-union. The original venue was struck by lightening and burned down two weeks ago, which I would have taken as an omen, a sign from the Gods not to continue, but you can't keep a good man down, and an alternate venue was found in record time. Strike 2 was when my father-in-law called us at some ungodly hour on the morning of the event to see if we were still going. This man reads my blog, he should know better than to wake me that early on a weekend.  Definitely a case of "Don't poke the bear".

The reunion was for my mother-in-law's side of the family. I had no idea there were so many of them. Our cousin Edward had done a fantastic job of organizing the event and had managed to trace & include family members descended from several generations back. As a result of his years of research, he had some very interesting stories to tell us as well, which also sort of explained a few things I had been wondering about all these years. 

One cousin, Angela, upon hearing the forecast of rain, had thoughtfully brought a bunch of crafts for the kids, to entertain them indoors. A wonderful idea, except for the bucket of beads. Oh sure, it provided quite a bit of entertainment for a while, as the kids sat there earnestly threading necklaces and key-chains, however it was inevitable that eventually the bucket of beads would be sent flying and of course it was my youngest that did it. Hundreds of beads scattered across the floor, a hazard that threatened to wipe out half the Charpentier clan in one foul swoop. The one upside, Sid didn't get to finish the necklace she was creating for me. Lest that sounds harsh, I have worn my fair share of macaroni necklaces and knotted string bracelets, I didn't need anymore.

These people certainly know how to prepare a spread. Tables groaned under the weight of platters piled high with  food. The dessert table was laden with an incredible array of delicious pies, pastries and sweet treats. Sadly, due to insurance regulations, no alcohol was allowed. Personally that was fine by me, but I would have loved to have seen a few tongues loosed by a glass of wine, and heard more details of the juicy gossip that was only alluded to in such a sober state.

However, it was still fascinating to sit back and listen to the stories and the history, and dare I say it, learn about a few family feuds as well.  Who knew ? Skeletons in the closet, dubious inheritances, questionable parentage, curses, this family has had it all.  With well over a hundred family members in attendance, no one went by the name of John.  That is the family curse, any Charpentier male that has been christened with any variation of that name, has met an untimely death at a very young age. You may well scoff at curses, but when Edward read out the long list of the afflicted, it certainly makes you wonder.  I would love to divulge more, but I know some of the clan follow my blog, so probably best to play it safe and kudos go out to Edward for all his hard work and dedication to the Charpentiers, for organizing the event.