Family Reunion, Florida Style

We are family, and we have the hats to prove it. In a former column, I wrote about our blended family, which is rapidly expanding, with babies and significant others. Our family's philosophy is "the more the merrier," which makes our family reunions more fun but more than a little confusing for the newbies to figure out the family tree.

It's been great to meet new babies and the new serious relationships that appear promising. We're not pressuring you, but we did spend time discussing movies like "The Wedding Planner," we are not subtle.

Last year, we lost one of my uncles. At his funeral in New York, the family decided we needed a fun reunion before some aunts and uncles were too old to participate. We decided to meet in sunny, humid Boca Raton, Florida, to accommodate the elder family members.

We traveled from California, Washington, Wisconsin, Chicago, New York, and Israel. And, although we had to travel to the East Coast, the beaches (and the Bloody Marys) were worth the trip. This trip focused on an aunt and uncle who moved from Washington, D.C., to Florida fifteen years ago. They moved for the tropical climate and to be near family members who had already traded snow for hurricanes.

Our reunions are typically eat-a-thons mixed with lots of fun; this time was no exception. It started with some of us meeting in the hotel bar, always a good place to start. Others went to my cousins' house for a challah baking session before all 38 of us gathered for Friday night's Shabbat dinner and a family photo with the magnificent inter-coastal waters and the Atlantic Ocean behind us.

Saturday morning, my niece and I trekked the beach after connecting with many of our family members holding court in the waterfront restaurant. Next up, my cousin took us for a boat ride in the channel so we could gawk at the immense houses, boats, and crazy people jumping on hoverboards and "cheater" jet skis. (I rode the original stand-up ones, not the wimpy sitting style that is now popular).

Saturday night, we all gathered for another dinner and played a very official game of "Family Jeopardy." It was brutally competitive because we heard there were some exceptional chocolate chip cookies for first prize. I came in third, no cookies for me.

My Sunday started with a good amount of time in the gym to prime the body for brunch. My aunt and uncle hosted us all for a buffet that could have fed a third-world country. Then began a generational showdown. A 20-plus-year-old suggested that sharing our reunion pictures on WhatsApp would be the most efficient. There is a range of computer skills within our group of 20- to 90-year-olds; most of the 60 to 90-year-olds had no clue what the app was, how to get it or use it if they did.

Our last hour at brunch was spent with the younger generations, helping the older learn how to load, set up, create usernames, download, and use the app to see the pictures. I sat back and watched the lessons, had another mimosa, and was grateful to be an experienced WhatsApp user even though I am one of the elders. I was very thankful to have made it home before the hurricane hit, a perfect reunion with perfect timing.