Mindful {Monday} | A Tradition

Better late than never! I missed writing this post on Monday, because I was up in Rhode Island spending time with family.  Every year my family has been going to Rhode Island, to my Great Uncle Joe's cottage, in July for a massive family vacation/reunion.  And, when I say massive, I mean MASSIVE!

This week long family vacation consists of all of my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from my Mother's side of the family. {She is one of 8 children}.  It's A LOT of people.  Then on the first Sunday of the trip all of my Mom's second cousins and their children... and their children, come for the big reunion.

It's so impossible to describe.  I don't feel like I can do this incredible event justice.  It's been held on this scale for at least 40 years and my Mom's family were making this same trip when they were kids.  It's a pilgrimage of sorts.

There are probably a hundred different traditions that are repeated each year from the stop into Flo's for lobster rolls and clam cakes, the after dinner Awful Awful's at Newport Creamery, and the evening storytelling sessions in the "Beer Tent".  Walks on the rocky beach searching for purple glass and other treasures, evening pictures on the white rock, in front of the Mount Hope Bridge, then heading out to Newport for dinner.  A new tradition of Tuesday Night Trivia at Aiden's Pub.  Touring the Vineyards with new additions each year as we each turn 21, early morning power walks, and usually one trip to the cliff walks. Mansions and shopping if it rains... and so many more that I can't even think of...

My family is incredibly special and precious to me.  I never forget, but being so far away from them, I don't get that weekly/monthly family-village dose of love that I remember getting to experience growing up in the same town as them. They are truly such a beautiful network of supportive, loving, funny, and amazing people.  They stick together through everything that life throws at them and the amount of effort that they put into each other is unlike anything I've ever seen.  I hope that our traditions continue for many years to come and that we keep adding more love and kindness to the mix with each generation that gets added to the craziness! :)  I can't imagine my life without all the memories and support that my big crazy family has provided.  I can't imagine any place that feels more like home than a week in Rhode Island surrounded by ocean, salt air, and the love of a big family.