Fletcher Family Reunion

Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.
~Gail Lumet Buckley

Yesterday, Laura, Mom, and I, went near Winchester, Virginia for the Fletcher family reunion. It wasn’t easy to convince Mom to go, but I thought it would be fun for her in the end. I am glad we went and she was too. We didn’t get to stay as long as we would have liked, so here are just a few snapshots of the event.

Susan and Maxine looking at the t-shirts that were made for the event.

I finally got to meet and know the Nancy I heard speak of.

And I always heard about Betty when growing up but never knew her. (According to all at the reunion, she used to be a real hoot!)

Maxine with George and Linda.

Devoted mom and grandmom, Athena and Kim with 10 week old Benjamin. Kim looked the same as I remembered!

Uncle Arthur greeting Susan

Cousins

One of the sweetest faces at the reunion, Nancy.

Mom and Laura with Nancy, she promised to come see us towards the end of the year.

Some of the family couldn’t be there, so it was nice to see photos as Kim is showing Linda her son here.

It did my heart good to see my daughter Laura get to know a very precious cousin, Kimberly. (From Maxine’s collection).

Maxine took this photo at a moment where mom is trying to get a chorus line started. (We can’t take her anywhere).

Another sweet part of the day was going through Winchester and mom got to chatter about “Grandmom lived there, my house where I grew up was there, Arthur and I played in that yard there…” as well as show Laura Handley High and the library. Laura got to grab a few shots as I drove through and mom told us stories about all her favorite places.

The beautiful John Handley High School in Winchester Virginia

The Handley Library Opened in 1913 and is probably the best example of Beaux-Arts architecture in Virginia.

It was a good day, and as I pondered the reunion, I couldn’t resist to put here a few quotes:

The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.
~Kendall Hailey

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life – to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.
~George Eliot

If you don’t believe in ghosts, you’ve never been to a family reunion.
~Ashleigh Brilliant

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.
~Ogden Nash

Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.
~Author Unknown