Finally a total break from work - A Family Reunion of sorts

Finally, we took some real time off. I realize 3 days off is hardly much time off, but it was totally “time off.” We left town, so there was no sneaking over to the store to print and fill orders. We headed to what we’d call a Family Reunion at Anchorage Camp on the beautiful Lake Waccamaw, NC.

I did not take a computer with me, or even a tablet, so I couldn’t begin to write emails or fun things like ordering fabric. I do have a smart phone with internet, but the internet at camp is sketchy at best. So, I thought, “What better time than now to just relax and enjoy being around the family?”

Our son and his wife, Steven and Alli, plus 4 grandgirls, came down from Ohio. Our son, Andy, came down from New Jersey, and our son, Peter, drove up with us. Our daughter and her husband, Sarah and Michael, plus 3 grandgirls, drove up from here on the same day that we did.

In addition, to add to the fun, Becky’s oldest son, Jeremiah, and his wife, Jessica, along with their four children came up from here, as well.

All in all, we had four children, two spouses and seven grandgirls at camp with us.
So, we called it a family reunion. It really was great.

It was very, very short. (and if it seems that my photo emphasis was heavy on my grandgirls from Ohio, it’s fair… because one of them I had never seen before, and the others I rarely see.)

We left our house around 6 a.m. and landed in NC to Lake Waccamaw, around 3:45 p.m. or so. We got into our room, and I started my official relaxing. I actually had relaxed a bit earlier, because Peter and Ken didn’t let me drive. They let me rest. That was lovely. For a while I closed my eyes, and leaned my seat back. I didn’t do any deep sleeping, but resting was great.

We had found out that our youngest son and his wife had accidentally left one of their daughter’s shoes at home, so we kidnapped Alli and ran her over to the local thrift shop, where we found a pair of crocs ($.50) and I grabbed a puzzle ($1), and we were back before anyone really missed us! (Oh the joys of having a camp relatively near civilization, even if that means a Dollar General, a thrift store and a basic grocery store.)

By 6 p.m. supper, all of us had landed, and gotten into our rooms, and settled into the fun.

It did not take our sharp eyed grandgirls long to spot our store banner adorning the walls in the gymnasium.

For the next 1.5 days, we revelled in being around the grandkids and the children. We put together the puzzle I had picked up quickly at the thrift store, played games, ate ice cream bars from the snack bar, and delicious food from the camp kitchen.

We listened to children cry, gave encouraging words to moms, held babies and took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures! We gave hugs, laughed, ate meals we neither planned nor prepared. We didn’t have to clean up a single thing. It was oh, so lovely!

The children mainly loved the early morning fishing, the tubing (3 year old Laurence called it, “chasing the boat.”), the swimming, the skating and the rock wall climbing.

I enjoyed the singing in the services, and the time of quiet designated for us to have family devotions. I also enjoyed watching the children listening and learning in separate services. The Bible challenges all came from Psalm 119, with an emphasis on the Word of God, and the importance in our daily lives. It was fun to find that the speaker knows my twin (Becky) and her husband, since he’s from their mission board out in Arizona.

I played the games, held the newborn whom I had not seen prior to this gathering, hugged on the grandgirls, and treated them to snacks and gifts from the camp store. (Isn’t that what grandparents are supposed to do?)

Pictures below feature some of the things they did in the gymnasium. The girls really loved the climbing wall. The only one I saw reach the top was Emma… I’m sure others did, but I was there for that one..

This is one of my favorite pictures as those are all our family (some are nieces and nephews, but still family) and you can see the mammoth size of this lake!

Our nearly 48 hours of pure relaxation ended altogether too quickly and by 1:35 p.m. on Saturday, we had left the camp, headed for home, landing back in Dade City right around 10:35 p.m. or so, 9 hours after we had departed. (We didn’t stop for any real meals as we felt like we had done nothing but eat while we were gone.) I did get a few hours of reading in on the way home, as well, so that was lovely!

Enjoy the pictures. I know that people say to take time off, but boy is that hard to do! Getting to leave, when there’s still payroll to cover, and bills that keep coming whether you’re here or not. But, I’m thankful we did it. Our next trip is our first ever business trip to Michigan, and we are not going with so many family members, so we will keep the store open! We do thank you incredibly for supporting us regularly! We do so very much appreciate it!

Rachael Woodard1 Comment