October 20th, 2010

family reunion madness!

On a spontaneous road trip to st. louis to visit friends and family last week, I happened to call my great Aunt Joan at just the right time–she informed me that the annual Wurm family reunion was happening that Saturday, and I was the guest of honor.

so I drove with Aunt Joan two hours west, to Fulton, MO, where we frolicked on the family farm. Aunt Joan is my Grandma Ann’s baby sister—one of fourteen siblings—so as you can imagine, there were LOTS of relatives. I enjoyed meeting third, fourth, and fifth cousins (once removed?) and finding out strange characteristics that I shared with them. (According to Aunt Joan, Wurms are “happy,” “outgoing” and “ambitious.” She reassured me that I’m definitely a Wurm).

My great Uncle Charlie is obsessed with his tractor, so he gave everyone hayrides every hour on the hour—pointing out highlights of his 500 acre farm. Other festivities included devouring Kentucky Fried Chicken (Grandma Ann’s favorite!), watching children demolish a pinata, laughing at pyromaniac Michael as he played with the bonfire, flying kites, organizing a group photo (it was an effort rounding everybody up!), and serenading my little cousins with my (ahem!) slightly-out-of-tune guitar playing.

I had a blast; it was quite providential that I called my Aunt Joan when I did, because I never would have remembered that the Wurms do this every year. It was fun reconnecting with old family members and meeting new ones—like my fifth cousins (?) who are two adorable twin seven-year-olds, aka my little sisters for the day. I liked representing Grandma Ann’s progeny—it was fun and a little surprising to hear everyone gasp, “You look JUST like your mother!” And I learned a ton from my car-mate, Aunt Joan, who is a great story-teller (she gave me lots of a material for a book one day, as she recounted fascinating stories of what it was like to grow up in a family of 16!) All in all, it was pretty unforgettable. I can’t wait to go back next year—maybe the Potter family will join me.