I got back home from the Bailey reunion today and, despite not being a Bailey, I had a great time. The Baileys are the family that Faye married into about 40+ years ago so I've come to be very close to them. They're good people with excellent family bonds so they fit right in with my love of family.
Faye, Mary, and I did some yard saleing on Saturday morning and then gathered at one of the Bailey farms for the reunion in the afternoon. The weather couldn't have been more perfect...sunny and hot but with a cooling breeze. There were lots of large shade trees on the farm and lots of open spaces for some of the clan to throw a ball around, too. Somewhere in the vicinity of 60 Baileys and friends were part of the reunion so I wasn't the only party crasher.
After dinner we were treated to a surprise. Todd and Peggy renewed their wedding vows after 25 years of marriage, with their 2 daughters standing up with them. Their neighbor, an ordained but not practicing minister, performed the ceremony in the yard as the rest of us sat in witness. It was so nice to see the love between Todd and Peggy and also the love and tight bonds among the whole Bailey family. All generations were there from the seniors down to the babies, everyone knowing how important family is and the elders using the day to reinforce this knowledge with the children.
We old people left about 10 P.M. for our motels and left the younger folk to party on at the bonfire. I, for one, slept like a lamb all night. Many of the Baileys met at 10 A.M. this morning in a local restaurant for breakfast and rehashed the reunion. I'll be seeing Mary again next Monday when she comes in to go to the casino and then spend the night at my house.
It was nice to get back to my own house, though. It always is no matter whether I've been gone a day or half a year. Home is where my heart is. Home is where my stuff is.
To make home even nicer, we had a really good drenching rainstorm in the early evening which is so desperately needed here. It's nice to be home.
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