Sau many Sauvés

I have forty first cousins on my father's side. (Edit: that's a lie, I have 39. Including me, we are forty first cousins).

Of the thirteen siblings in my dad's family, only eight remain.  They were all present for the family reunion this past weekend.  This year would've marked the one hundredth birthday for both their parents, Joe and Audrey, who were born six months apart in 1912 (Audrey being the older).

These thirteen produced forty grand-children spanning 36 or 37 years.  All but six showed up. Most have kids of their own, many are grand-parents themselves.

There were a lot of Sauvés. It was somewhat overwhelming.  My godmother, Aunt Irene, my dad's oldest remaining sister organized it with the help of my uncle Ken, dad's younger brother, and as family reunions go, it was pretty good.

We arrived about halfway through the event, which ran from one o'clock to seven in the evening, so we were only there about three hours. The room was big enough, but the air conditioning wasn't able to keep up.  It wasn't unbearably warm, but it was warm.  I might have a different perspective if we'd been there the whole time. The food was excellent

I got to meet a few people for the first time, and many I hadn't seen in ages.  My cousins from Prince Edward Island made the trip, I'd only ever met the oldest, Joel and he wasn't much more than a toddler, now he's a grown man, with such a genuine smile that shines through his eyes, it's contagious.  His little brother Logan, whom I'd never met, isn't so little and according to my older daughter looks like he should be a model for Hollister (whatever that means).   Sadly I didn't get a chance to talk to their sisters, Marla and Leah.  I guess I'll have to plan a trip to the little island.

Some cousins we see more often so I tried not to spend too much time with them as I'll likely see them at Christmas, or sooner.  I tried to focus on those that came from out of town, like Uncle Gerry and Aunt Georgette and the other James Sauvé (when they named their son, they thought, as did everyone, that my name was Jamie), who made the trip from Calgary.

Spoke with my cousin John, who has always been something of a role model for me. It's really too bad he is so much older than I am, I suspect we would've had some great times in our youth had we only been a few years closer in age. I finally got to meet his husband Chris, who had a keen sense of observation and a quick friendly smile.

Shared some quick words (too quick, but there were so many people) with the Lagacé clan (Richard, Robert and Laura; and Uncle Lionel and Aunt Mary Lou), and my cousins Keith, Erin, Megan, Uncle Ken and Aunt Ann's family (somehow missed Shelly). Briefly spoke to my Uncle Alan and his sons Darren and Greg, finally met Greg's wife Corrie; Saw Uncle Jim, Aunt Anita and her kids Peter and Theresa, and so many of my Uncle Ron's daughters (Judy, Cheryl, Debbie, Kylie and Stefanie), many of which are friends on Facebook, but I was meeting a couple for the first time in person. 

The group pictures were pure mayhem, but it was fun. We got a shot of the second-cousins, so all my children and the children of all my cousins. It was staggering, and not all of them were there!  My older daughter wondered why there were adults in the picture.  At 11 years old the age ranges involved was hard for her to grasp.  Being the middle child of the middle child, there are plenty above and below me in the age chart,  many of the older are grand-parents, but many of the young have not even started their families yet.  So there will be more!

I think the most important thing was for the kids and Kiza to meet my family.  They had met bits and pieces before, but this really showed them that we are part of something incredibly big.

There were way too many people that I didn't get a chance to chat with. I guess we'll have to do it again next year!