I returned to Cairo about a week ago. Classes, for the fall term at AUC, begin tomorrow. My holiday has officially come to an end. It’s now time to get back to a more regular schedule for writing my Savvy Women’s Magazine blog entries.
I’ve decided to do something a little different this week. I’ve chosen to blog a photograph, one that was taken less than a month ago at an old-fashioned Headrick family reunion.
I’ll tell you a little story about the people in the photo, and then I’ll conclude by making a recommendation.
The people in the picture, from left to right, are Tammy Sefcik, me, Bill Headrick, and Sylvia Headrick, Bill’s wife. (Note: I’m the only one wearing sunshades in the photo, which must mean that I’ve either just come in from the outside or was about to step out into the bright central Texas sunshine when this digital image was preserved. A third possibility, a very embarrassing one, is that I’m simply not aware that I’ve got them on.) Anyway, the setting is a ranch house, owned by Bill and Tammy’s parents, located just outside the small town of Minerva, Texas.
Bill and Tammy are my cousins. Their father—also Bill—is my dad’s younger brother.
When I was growing up, Bill and Tammy were my favorite cousins on the Headrick side of my family. Every summer, my parents would drive me to Rockdale, the little town they lived in at that time, and drop me off at their house. I’d then spend the next week or so with them. During my Rockdale visits, we were allowed to stay up as late as we wanted and do all sorts of crazy-fun things together. Life, during those summertime romps, was as perfect as it could possibly be.
I’d also periodically see my cousins, during the school year, when the whole clan would gather in Georgetown, the place where my dad’s mother and father (“Grandma” and “Papa”) lived.
When we were only kids, Grandma died of breast cancer. Papa remarried and continued to live an active life up until his mid-80s. Then, in 1993, he had a massive heart attack and passed away as a result.
Right after Papa’s funeral, I joined the Peace Corps and left America to live overseas, returning only briefly each summer for many years thereafter. So, from 1993 to 2008, I entirely lost track of Bill and Tammy. For fifteen long years, I neither corresponded with them, nor saw them in person.
During the summer of 2008, when I was back in America, I organized a reunion with my cousins. During that gathering, we were ecstatic about seeing one another again. We spent hours talking giddily about all the things that had taken place during all those years of separation. I came away from that meeting feeling emotionally reenergized and determined to never lose contact again.
If there is someone from your past (especially if that someone is a member of your family) whom you’ve drifted away from, you should give some thought to doing whatever is needed to reestablish ties. I understand that this involves risk—what if the reunion turns out to a big disappointment?—but you shouldn’t let that deter you. Life should be lived courageously.
The potential payoff for reuniting could be enormous. By the way, if you’d like to do this but don’t really know where to start, check out Pipl.com, a fairly new search engine that’s specifically designed to help you relocate people via the Internet.
When I reconnected with my long-lost cousins, I felt whole again. And that’s a very good way to feel.
