One of the best parts of this summer (in addition to being on the road, which I absolutely LOVE), was getting to visit with members of James’ family. It started with the Garrard-Register Family Reunion in Thomasville, GA, where fambam came from far and wide for the biannual reunion, to catch up and reconnect. This was the second Garrard-Register reunion I’ve attended with James, and I enjoyed visiting with Fam I met last time, along with meeting new folks. They also showed TPC lots of love by picking up copies of James’ book, which is always wonderful. And the food! There is nothing, NOTHING like a family reunion-sized cookout — best BBQ I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming, hands down.
Some serious BBQ at the Garrard-Register Family Reunion
After the reunion, we headed out to Jacksonville, Florida for a lovely four-day visit with James’ cousin Imani. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I LOVE cousin Imani. I swear, we are like sisters separated at birth, and we did some major bonding. I definitely plan to make visits to Casa Imani (aka 1814) an annual thing.
On our return trip to Atlanta, we were hosted by Imani’s mother, Cousin Ernestine, who made us feel SUPER welcome. Our visit to her place in Stone Mountain, GA was wonderful. In addition to getting more acquainted with this branch of the family tree, we were treated to some amazing home cooking and good ole southern hospitality. It was actually pretty hilarious–during dinner, several of the neighbors “dropped by” to help themselves to some of Ernestine’s stew. It was a beautiful thing, to see that kind of community, where folks not only know their neighbors, but have a true open-door policy, where folks are always welcome. We definitely don’t do that back in Cali. But it was neat to see, and Ernestine made enough food to feed an army, so there was plenty to go around. We also got to bond more with Cousin Bronya and my precious new nieces Rachel and Gabby. I have a huge and sincere fondness for all of these lovely ladies, and I’m not gonna lie, I got a little choked up when it was time to leave… though I know I’ll be back. Yay for having FamBam in the ATL!
We rounded out the whirlwind trip with a visit to Maryland to see James’ mother Phyllis, aka Mama. I love this woman. She refers to me as her daughter-in-law whenever she introduces me to someone (soon mama, soon :), and we have so much in common it kinda freaks James out, lol. It was my first visit to Mom’s house in Maryland, and also my first time meeting James’ younger brother Quen. While we were there, I also got to meet a bunch of aunts and uncles who cycled through during our visit. We arrived in the midst of a family crisis, but if there’s one good thing about crisis, its that it tends to draw people closer together. Though I wish we could have all met under different circumstances, I am grateful that James and I were able to make the trip and be there with everyone. As my brother Bill is fond of saying: “Family… we all we got.”
As we headed to the airport (after a quick visit with my lovely Aunt Mae and Cousin Gwen), I had an epiphany of sorts. Now that James and I have merged, I have essentially doubled the size of my family. I don’t think of Quen as James’ brother, or Mama as James’ mom. I claim them as my own, my kin. My cousins, aunts, and nieces. It’s pretty cool. So this is for you, my Garrard-Register-Lewis-Boykin-Wilson-Davis fam, for welcoming me into your hearts, homes, and family. I love you all…
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