Sunday Family Gathering

Author: Jose G. Barr

The family gather at our home yesterday to enjoy some good food, laughs and enjoy the company of family. We don't gather like this often enough and it is nice when we can.  I know that my father-in-law wishes that we did this more often and I agree wholeheartedly with him.  We have an opportunity to catch up and tell some great stories about work, life and everything in between.




This past Sunday, fourteen of us gathered at our home to BBQ some burgers and dogs and celebrate my wonderful sister-in-law Sandra's birthday. Much to our pleasant surprise some of our family arrived early, allowing us the opportunity to chat with them before the rest of the clan arrived.  We had a good time just catching up with the two of them.

As more family arrived, we took the party outside to the Patio.  We opened up our patio umbrellas and got a fan going to add to the breeze that was already cooling us off nicely. The temperature was at 93 degree Fahrenheit, but it did not feel that hot our on our patio (being on the shadow side of the building in the afternoons helps).  By 2:30 PM the grill was hot and ready to receive the first burgers and hot dogs for the day.

My wife Ruby brought out our wireless speaker to share some nice music while we ate dinner. Joseph and his cousin Eileen put together a game using a giant dice. The object of their game was to have each person tell a joke.  Well, the results were funny, imagine trying to tell clean jokes around the kids. We all had to keep thinking about what were going to say.  There were more than a few laughs as a many struggled with finding a clean joke or three to tell in front of the kids.

At the end of the evening we cut the birthday cake that Ruby, my wife, had made for Sandra. The cake was made especially good by the addition of a secret homemade topping.  It contained vanilla pudding mix, pineapples, mandarin oranges and a few other choice ingredients.  Ruby outdid herself with that topping.

By 8:00 PM Joseph was a tired mess. Quite out of character he came to us and said good night.  I went with him to his room to make sure that he was tucked in.  By 8:15 PM he was out cold and looking like my little angel.

I remember a time when my family in Mexico would gather every Sunday for a family brunch. It was a time for all of our family to get together in one place.  Hopefully, this past Sunday was the beginning of a new family tradition here in Yucaipa, Ca.  One where we all gather as a family and enjoy a few hours together.

For most people, life is going along at a rapid pace.  One valuable lesson I learned while living in Virginia was to take it easy. Life in Virginia moved at a much slower pace than here in California and  it took some getting used to. Sitting down to talk and have an actual conversation seems to be a lost art, but it was in full swing at our gathering. We talked about everything from vacations to football and going to a tale-gate party at the stadium.

We love you dear family and hope that you all enjoyed your time together at Casa De Barr.