The year I remember the most was the reunion in Illinois. I was about six years old and extremely excited about traveling so far away from home. We decided to rent a van so we all could ride together. In this minivan was eight people: Uncle Eddie, Aunt Sissy, Mom, Jordan, Granny, Papa, and me. It was a ride that seemed to last forever, so I frequently asked, “Are we there yet?” And my mother would reply simply, “yes, get out right here.” Of course I knew we weren’t really there, but being the devious child I was, I would reach for the handle and pretend like I was going to get out. “Loni Marie if you touch that door one more time you will walk to Illinois!” This was the “phrase-of-the-day.”

We arrived in Illinois safely later that night, al

She just looked at me and said “Only if you promise to be very careful.” I was already on my way to the swings yelling, “Yeah, ok, I will!” After a few minutes of just swinging we decided this was no fun at all, we needed to jump out of the swings to impress everyone. “Jordan we jump on three, ok?” She looked at me and said, “OK but if we get in trouble its your fault!” This was no surprise to me this was how we made all of our deals; she did it and I got blamed. So I begin the count “One,” we swung higher. “Two!” Here was the big finale, “THREE!” We both left our swing at the same time; my feet hit the ground, but no Jordan. I knew what was going to happen then, and right after I thought that I heard, “LONI MARIE!” So many thoughts rushed through my head, “What do I do?” “What can I tell her happened?” I walked over to my mother with my head held low. She looked up at me and said, “Do you know what happened to your sister because of your little idea?” I replied, “No ma’am.” I was trying to be respectful in every way possible to avoid gettin

Some topics in this essay:
Granny Papa, Reunion Remember, Florida Kentucky, family reunion,