I just got back from a family reunion in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and it’s going to take me a few days to recover. This was my wife’s side of the family (Vicky’s), and there were between forty and fifty relatives there. Relatives from England, Australia, California, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Virginia, and of course, Manitoba. It was a hoot. So many laughs and stories told. The oldest was eighty-three, and the youngest was just a few months old, with everyone else somewhere in between. There was so much positive energy. Vicky and I were there for six days and it was nonstop right from the time we got off the plane. We stayed with Vicky’s sister Jan and her husband Bob. Jan was the hostess with the mostest, and Bob was chauffeur extraordinaire, shuttling family around from morning till night.
Friday night we had a family dinner in Bob and Janice’s lovely garden. Saturday was a fun day of games and food at our nephew Darcy’s and Andrea’s home across town. The weather was beautiful and the younger kids had all kinds of games to play, plus a trampoline. Sunday was another busy day. I’m not sure I have walked that many steps in one day. I left Janice’s around eleven to meet our two daughters and a couple of nieces with their children at Assiniboine Park where the Winnipeg Zoo is located. I was running late and it was quite a hike. I did manage to reach them in time to join them for lunch at the Tundra Restaurant. After lunch, we continued walking through the zoo and took a ride on the steam train. The kids loved it, as did I. After the zoo adventure it was off to a local community hall (another long hike) where everyone was gathering for food, dancing, and more conversation and laughs. Niece Shawna did an incredible job on a giant family tree as our family is ever growing with younger and older newly found family members, thanks to DNA matches. The party started at three and went until nine o’clock. Music was DJ’d by Jan’s grandson Simon. The dance floor was packed and at one point the oldest person on the dance floor was 82and the youngest was 2. By the time it all ended, and because I love to dance, my legs were done….really done. After cleaning the hall we all went home to bed. The family I married into sure knows how to have a good time. No complaints there, and we all got along famously.
Talking about people getting along, on Saturday before the BBQ at Darcy’s, cousin Maureen and I managed to visit the Human Rights Museum in downtown Winnipeg and I don’t think I’ll ever view the world again in quite the same way. It was a wealth of information and an incredible experience. Heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. This is a museum that everyone should visit at some point in their lifetime. The main message, of course, was about human rights and its history and begs the question: what’s wrong with us humans? The museum documents the violation of human rights since the beginning of time. Incredible. And, here we are in 2026 still committing atrocities against each other. Why? I don’t understand. I mean, why can’t we be kind toward each other on a global level? Why can’t we respect each other? I have my theories, and religion always seems to come up as a major reason why we can’t get along. I won’t go there, not today. At any rate, if you ever get a chance to visit the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg, you will be doing yourself a favor and have your eyes opened a little wider. Let me know if you have had an opportunity to visit this museum and what your impressions were.
Now, back to the reunion. It was so much fun. We seniors felt like we needed to do this for the younger generations. We’ll be long gone one day and it’s important to us older family members that the younger generations carry on the tradition of having family reunions. It benefits everyone involved. Family is family, and it’s so important that everyone stays in touch. I am blessed to have married into such a family where there is so much love and kindness toward each other, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
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