Touched by love.

I'm slowly settling back into normal life after our trip to New Mexico for the Santa Maria family reunion, but I've found it necessary to remain quiet here, letting the magic of the trip wash over me again and again. I find myself perusing the same albums of photos of the reunion and friending "new" family members on Facebook while turning over the numerous memories in my mind.

I don't think I was expecting much from the trip, other than getting away from work for a while and being surrounded by hoards of people {something that sometimes makes me want to hide in a corner}. But it ended up being so much more than that. I admit that I went to New Mexico a bit guarded and hard-hearted since so many of that side of my husband's large family were surprisingly MIA or no-shows for our wedding three years ago. It's something that sounds so petty now, but it was a little bit of a chip that I think both my husband and I had on our shoulders.

That chip washed away and my heart softened as soon as we were greeted with open arms by the family who we so rarely get to see. Grandma and Grandpa made everyone there feel like family, whether they've known you since birth or if you were an addition through marriage {like me!} or just a friend of the family.

The outpouring of love was the most touching part about the whole weekend. Not only was it a standard family reunion with 85 people coming in from Hawaii to Virginia, but it also happened to be Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary.

 The photo wall of Grandma and Grandpa and their eight children {My father-in-law is the one on the bottom left. Love that 70's hair!}
 All eight of their children at the anniversary celebration
These two are still so in love with each other that it was palpable, just radiating out of both of them. There were so many tender looks exchanged, and many jokes about the love that resulted in eight children. There was a wedding vow renewal where Grandpa got choked up saying his vows to his wife of 60 years, and in turn wetting every eye in the crowd. There was a slow dance to the same song that they danced to on their first date, and speeches of gratitude for each other, their children, their grandchildren and their friends.



And the rest of the family showered Grandma and Grandpa with love right back. It was so incredible to think about how we were all there because of {and thanks to} those two wonderful people. Like any family, there has been a large share of drama, hardships, challenges and relationship problems, but everyone was able to put those aside to celebrate. After the vow renewal, the family presented Grandma and Grandpa with a mosaic photograph--a collection of photos of all the family members that when viewed at a distance makes up a photo of Grandma and Grandpa. A perfect representation of how we are all a part of them.

We also all took turns sneaking out to the front of their house the night of the party to sign the garage door with permanent marker like a giant, living yearbook. Grandma and Grandpa were lead outside, blindfolded, and presented with their graffiti'd garage door while the entire family cheered on. They absolutely loved it--Grandma jumped up and down with pure exhuberant joy and Grandpa said he plans on shellacking it for longevity. The next day we caught Grandpa outside, just quietly reading all the messages, lost in the words of his loved ones.



It was really moving for me to witness the outpouring of love for and from them, so much so that it's hard to put into words. The family is not shy about show their love or emotions for one another, and even the teenage grandsons were moved to tears at several points when Grandma and Grandpa shared some old letters that the boys had written as children. It's not something I'm used to seeing, as I come from much smaller families who have a different, less outward and affectionate way of expressing their love, if they speak to each other at all. {Many don't.} It made me really grateful to be able to be a part of this family, and to be welcomed into it with open arms. They have touched so many people throughout their lives, and opened their hearts and their home. I'm proud to have the family name as my own :)  Happy and love-filled, I'm inspired to bring this strong sense of love and joy into the rest of my life.


Everybody
 Mi familia {Father-in-law, siblings-in-laws and nephews}
All eight children with Grandma and Grandpa
The portion of grandkids that were able to attend the reunion {minus great grandbabies}
Love that endures
{Photos courtesy of my sister-in-law, cousin and aunt}