This past weekend, my family held its annual reunion at my cousin Sam’s house in Lake Charles, La. I’ve missed the past couple of Hebert reunions due to work obligations, but I made it a point to be there this year.
Our parents always made it a point to get together, and we’re trying to keep that tradition going. This reunion was like all Hebert get togethers – loud and boisterous with music, lots of youngsters and plenty of food.
We licked the bowl clean of my sister Diane’s wonderfully delicious strawberry, angel food cake and whipped cream dessert, and Sam and his brothers barbecued slab after slab of ribs and dozens of links of hot sausage. Best of all, my Aunt Claudia made three pans of her sinfully delicious chocolate cake, all of which had disappeared by the end of the day.
The same familiar stories were told and retold, and cameras never stopped clicking. The day was bittersweet for some of my cousins as we lost my wonderful Aunt Kathy earlier this year.
She was taken from us much too soon, and her daughters soaked up the plentiful stories about their mom who loved family with all her heart.
Sam’s back door was in constant motion as the kids came in and out, checking with parents to see if they could fish off the dock or go for a ride in the boat with Uncle Mike. They’d always grab a slice of cake or a hunk of sausage before heading back out to the slip-and-slide or the outside pool.
After the reunion, my cousin, Mary, posted photos of her sister-in-law, Tara, and I knew the Hebert trait of surviving tough ordeals with laughter was still in place.
Tara is halfway through chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer, and she allowed the children to paint her now-bald head with pink and yellow hearts, smiley faces and bright blue flowers.
To top it off, the girls painted some purple and gold eyebrows on Tara’s face, a tribute to the LSU Tigers, my family’s favorite football team.
In every picture, Tara’s smiling, despite the tough road she’s on. That optimism is what’s always fueled my family and held us together.
When the going gets tough, we rustle up a pot of gumbo, throw some burgers or ribs on the barbecue pit and huddle together to figure out a solution. If we need time to think, we grab a fishing pole and sit on the end of the dock until we find inspiration.
Most of all, we’ve learned to take my grandmother’s advice to heart – remember to have fun along the way and never, ever let each other down.
I’m thankful I was there this year to watch my Aunt Claudia blow out her birthday candles, reconnect with my cousins and see my grandmother’s spirit in all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I wished my father and his siblings could’ve been there with us, but as I watched my brothers, my sister and my cousins swap stories, their mannerisms so reminiscent of our parents, I knew, somehow, they were right there with us, just as they’ve been from the very beginning.
We’ve already set the date for next year’s reunion – June 30, 2012, same time and place.
I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.