July begins with a bang

Life has a way of piling things up on you when you least expect it. In the last week and a half, our family has had multiple events of significance.

July began with the celebration of the wedding of our grandson, Michael to Jessica Cannon. They got married in Northwoods Wedding Chapel with hubby Lester performing the ceremony. The small, lovely wedding was followed by a large, fun-filled reception at the Jay Bar H Ranch with friends and family sharing excitement with the couple.

It is always good to meet the family members of a new addition to our family. Our circles keep growing as our children and grandchildren share their in-laws with us. Jessica's Kansas relatives have now become part of our lives.

Next came the fun and meaning of the fourth of July. We had our own set of fireworks on the island of our Grayt Lake, then could turn and see the display from Nevada, and another in the southeast that must have been Sheldon. I think I have spent most of my 81 Fourths of July on the lawn at The Wayside and it was fun to share this experience with new relatives and growing-up great-grandchildren.

While these events were taking place we were also hurriedly getting ready for our big gathering of the Gray family. Last weekend 80 relatives came and we had a wonderful time together.

My nephew, Will Gray, who is retired from the National Geographic Magazine, is writing a report on that so I will not go onto more details here. I will say that it was a great experience for me to be surrounded by so many of our loved ones. Since they included recognition of our 60th anniversary as part of the fun it made it even more special. Not many people can celebrate their 60th anniversary on the very spot of their wedding with almost all of the original participants there. It was hilarious to see our cute little nephew ring-bearer performing his task as a 60-something retired executive. The flower girl, aisle-formers and maid of honor were all reprising their role on the same part of the lawn where the original wedding was held. What was unique that our two sons stood in for my late father and the minister. At the end of the occasion our minister/son pronounced us as "Mom and Dad!" A couple of days later Lester had a scheduled heart catheterization to see the reason for some recent symptoms.

This turned out to be a good thing as it showed the need for more extensive surgery in that area. So as you are reading this column we will be in St. John's Hospital in Joplin with heart surgeons making Lester's healthy 81-year-old body also have an equally healthy vascular system.

Whew! All this and July isn't half over yet.

We also got good news about a granddaughter-in-law's pregnancy. There had been some problems which additional tests showed were no longer a major concern. That was a big relief. It showed us that in a large family there are often both good and not-so-good things happening at the same time.

My 98-year-old brother was able to come to the reunion and enjoyed being in his old room at his birthplace. He is now back in Washington, still in good spirits and good health. While he sat in his chair on the family lawn watching the dozen or more children playing nearby he had one remark he said over and over. "Isn't it wonderful to see so many of our family here together having fun!"