Take time for your family

The 2025 Scheidies family gathering is over, leaving good memories and looking forward to next year. It was a cold weekend the last of April so family members considered a later and warmer date for next year—like July.

This year was different. Our gatherings take place over the whole weekend. Saturday, we always gather at the family farm. Since Keith’s folks passed, Sundays we’ve met for brunch at the Mitzi Pavilion. This year we decided to have Sunday brunch at our house.

We had the extra room since Cassie’s room was now a sitting room. Now when Cassie and Kurt stay with us, they have a nice room of their own since we renovated Cassie’s childhood bedroom with paint, carpeting and a solid pullout couch. The kids slept on a blowup mattress in the living room.

Our friends cleaned and organized our garage to use in case of rain. Gavin had our lawn looking good and Kaziah had the house cleaned and ready for guests.

Not everyone made the gathering for one reason or other, but Keith’s siblings made it along with the whole family of his brother who is no longer with us. His family included his widow and her new husband, the three children, spouses and families.

Our daughter, spouse and two kids, our grandchildren, 6 and 8 arrived Friday afternoon. So good to spend time with them. My late brother’s spouse was invited for supper. Again, for one reason or another, her birthday celebration had been postponed way too long. I still had her gift and card. We ate pizza and finished with gluten-free cupcakes. We laughed through the game we’d given Lorene as part of her gift. Fun celebration.

Saturday we spent time together with just Keith and I and Cassie’s family. We kept checking to make sure our son’s daughter Tori who drove was ok and on her way with a friend. Mid-afternoon, we headed to the farm for an evening of food, fellowship, catching up and laughter. It was good to be together. Groups settled around the house, shifting and changing throughout the evening. Kids, and there are a lot of cute little kids running around, kept our attention.

They liked having the run of the farm, with an adult present, of course. Sometimes that was Tori. She likes animals as much as the little ones. They took away a precious memory and were in awe when they came back inside to share with we adults the wonder they’d seen. They watched kittens being born.

We didn’t make it a late night. We aren’t young anymore. The next morning, we were up and getting ready for guests. Cassie held the kitchen as she got brunch together. Not simple when dealing with vegan and gluten-free along with regular diet foods.

Having the brunch turned out to be a good idea. We live across the street from a park, so the kids got to expend some of their energy over there. I provided individual bottles of bubbles to be blown.

We talked, ate, laughed and enjoyed one another’s company. Then it was time. Those from Colorado had the longest drive. More than one family had a dog to pick up so they wouldn’t be charged for an extra day. There were coats and shoes and jackets to find.

There was food collected and distributed. There were hugs and long good-byes. Family by family left. We said goodbye to our daughter, Kurt and their kids, our younger grandkids. We said goodbye to our older granddaughter Tori. (She was the only one from her family to attend and we were so glad she made it.)

Finally, Keith and I were alone staring at each other. I cleared my throat and said, “It’s so quiet.” Too quiet. We missed the hustle bustle and voices of the kids. Having brunch at our house turned out great. No driving home. We were home.

I regretted forgetting to take many pictures. But that was ok because the best memories are safely stored inside.

Until next year.

Note. Take time to make precious memories with your loved ones. You never know about tomorrow.

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