Family Reunion in Tennessee!

"Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one"                           Unknown  

What do you get when you bring a rowdy Boston Irish Catholic clan spanning four generations to Tennessee?  Belly laughs, lots of them.  My Mom graciously, and very generously, brought us all together to celebrate her 80^th birthday.  For no other reason than “life”, we (Mom and the 4 of us “kids” and respective families) had not all been together for ten years.  A lot happens in ten years.. .

"GiGi' and Babes

"Papa"? and Babes

Baby entertains

We flew and drove in from all corners of the country, literally.  The majority of us are still in the Northeast (Boston area and New York City).  Louisville Kentucky and Truckee California (in the Lake Tahoe area) were also represented.  We had our favorite Octogenarian at the helm and her first great-grandchild of seven months bringing up the rear.  Mom’s “Kids” range in age from 48 to 56 (yes, that’s me); grandkids from 9 to 32.  Nineteen of us in a massive log home for one week, we had a blast!  It can be pretty amazing when a house full of People can be mesmerized and entertained by a precious Angel.  Kennedy worked her hardest to achieve her goal of crawling that week, but didn’t reach it til arriving at her Grandparents’ (my Brother’s.  It’s unbelievable that he’s a GrandDad!) in Kentucky the following week.

Me and my Ladies

"Selfies" in the car (reverting to childhood?!)

We were just outside Smoky Mountain National Park on the outskirts of Gatlinburg.  Culture shock at its best.  At first, my Girls thought everyone was faking that southern accent!  They weren’t.  Mom, the Girls, and I shared a car from Knoxville, and driving the scenic route, I felt like we were on a very long Route 4 in Vermont. 
It was lovely with a river, and some whitewater!,  running next to us most of the ride.  On our first drive through Gatlinburg, we all thought, “cute”.  Later, after a dinner at a not very great, and kind of expensive (and I’m used to Boston/NYC prices) restaurant, we thought not so much (cute). 

Cousins!

More Selfies

Mom’s vision, dream, was that the cousins would bond, enjoy walks, and the like.  She got that and more.   As I mentioned, the house was a huge log “cabin” with plenty of room for everyone without feeling cramped at all.  Mom rented through Stony Brook Cabins.  Our humble abode was the Grand View Lodge, chosen for exactly that.   It was perfect for all of our needs. 


Crystal clear river

My Brother in Law wins the award for best sport as he took “the Men” fly-fishing many afternoons.  We Ladies would walk/hike in the Smoky Mountain National Park which is beautiful, go for rides (including horseback!), and do a bit of shopping. We were even guided in an amazing yoga class on the balcony overlooking the Smoky Mountains.  Thank you, Katie!

One thing that there are plenty of are pancake houses (or flapjacks as they are often called in Tennessee).  Katie started talking about going to one on that first drive through down.  So, one morning a group of us did just that, a pretty cheap, great breakfast.  Then we poked around town.  After about an hour and a headache later we had had more than enough.  The Kids did enjoy their time in the arcade (lots of those as well.)  Not my cup of tea.  My “big” kids did a moonshine tasting (also lots of that around). 

Will always love sunsets..

Celebrity!

It was a narrow, winding, precarious road to the house, which didn’t really entice anyone to go out at night, which was fine as there was not much to do anyway.  We shared big dinners at the huge tables side by side lovingly prepared by Everyone but me!  It was delightful.  Thanks Ladies and Gentlemen!  That prepared us for rollicking, rowdy games of Celebrity most nights.   Black Minister!

Mom and her "Kids"

Looking up!

We did find one small museum, the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum.  It was closed, permanently.  By the end of the week we firmly decided that Gatlinburg  defines ticky tacky honky tonk.  And, don’t even get me started on Pigeon Forge (forever in our memories as Pigeon Hell).

Relaxing..

The Clan!

It was a wonderful week creating many great memories.  We also got to celebrate Mom’s first Grandson in law’s birthday as well. I hope, I don’t think another ten years will pass for us to get together again.  Thanks Mom, aka Nonnie, and now GiGi! 

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!                                   Albert Einstein