the family thing

This past weekend I spent at Highland Retreat Center in Virgina with 60 other Hess family members. My mom had 5 brothers and 5 sisters so I have quite a large family on that side. I had a blast, as I usually due although the number of attending cousins my age was probably the lowest I can remember. I was the only one of my siblings there, Joel, his wife Nicole, Jared, Eric, his wife Katie, Dan, his wife Amy, and Emily were all not there. But the cousin's babies more than made up for it. All of Paul and Nancy's grandchildren were there and so were Jake and Norlene's. There is nothing like a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds running around to make a 21 year old feel quite old. Once again my uncle Wishart led a group of us Hesses as a choir, which was a great experience. There is nothing like singing with a bunch of family. However what struck me the most was Grandma. I hadn't seen her in almost 6 months, so it was sad to realize how quickly she is aging. She is shrinking in height and moves so slowly now. Although she still doesn't always use her cane, she probably should be using it. Seeing Grandma slowing down is definitely the hardest of all my grandparents aging process. Grandma is probably the grandparent I feel the closest too, plus unlike Grandpa Hess I have vivid memories of her in her active years. I think it was some time in high school where during the summer Hess reunion, she sneakily started a water fight that became almost legendary. But what really struck me as looking around the circle at all my family members on Sunday morning was that all these people came from just two people. I mean every single person in that roomed owed their life (or the life of their spouse) to her. What a fascinating idea that one person can produce an entire tribe.