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Old 05-01-2016, 09:16 AM
 
Location: out standing in my field
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Facebook is killing them.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:53 AM
 
Location: The analog world
17,077 posts, read 13,261,140 times
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I grew up going to an enormous extended family reunion each year in southwestern Ohio, and we frequently attended smaller family parties (but still big by today's standards) a few times a year. We all lived in the same general area, and the family was very close. As time has gone by, though, the dozen siblings who were at the center of the events have mostly died. My grandfather is one only a few who survive, and he's in his nineties. So, no, we don't have those reunions any longer. I miss them.

I know very little about what happened to the other grandchildren and their children/grandchildren. Of course, how could I possibly keep track? The numbers have gotten HUGE! A dozen siblings multiplied by four-to-five children each, all of their children, and now yet another generation, and that's just one line. I don't know how I could possibly keep track of all of those people, so I tend to focus on staying in touch with my surviving grandfather, my parents, my siblings, and their children. That's more than enough.
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Old 05-01-2016, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Where there is too much snow!
7,686 posts, read 13,090,446 times
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Cool reunions?

Quote:
Originally Posted by chaparrito View Post
Facebook is killing them.
You are soon the money with that statement!

But what else is killing them is, "texting while in the present of others". That last reunion I attended, I was trying to have a conversation with my older sister and all she wanted to do is, "sit there and text someone else the whole time". So I got up and walked away from here. The funny part is, she's the one who keeps pushing for a annual reunion and anytime you want to find her, "Just look on FB".
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Old 05-01-2016, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,463 posts, read 17,888,365 times
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Unfortunately, I haven't been to a real family reunion. But most of my father's family doesn't live in the US, and my mother's family stopped having real reunions when my great grandmother died (and I never went to one while she was living, unfortunately).
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Old 05-02-2016, 12:07 AM
 
13,975 posts, read 25,823,059 times
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My 6 siblings and I have gotten together with our families including the grandparents, cousins and some aunts and uncles every two years, for a week, since we were young adults in our 20s. We rotated locations by taking turns choosing, and if it was our turn we would rent the houses, plan the activities, and collect money for a food kitty.

Now our kids are in their 20 and 30s and they don't seem motivated to keep it up. If one of the parents suggests a reunion, then the cousins are on board, but they're several years older than we were when we took the initiative and haven't taken over. We hear a lot more complaints about cost too. The cousins always have a great time together, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it appears as though we'll be relying more on weddings and funerals to see each other now.
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Old 05-02-2016, 12:16 AM
 
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Facebook is replacing family reunions.
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Old 05-02-2016, 02:01 AM
 
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Hello aries63, I think you and the others do have a point. I myself have rarely been to any true family reunions - in fact, the only "true ones" (which had upwards of 50 or so people) took place on my dad's side of the family, down in Cairo, Georgia and Havana, Florida, and maybe a few other places. (I live in Birmingham but since my mom and dad are divorced, I spend a lot of time in Tallahassee, where he lives.)
But the last time I went to a family reunion, I was real young - I'd say no older than 13 at the oldest, and I'm now about to turn 20.
The last "big ones" I can remember are from when I was around 5.

I do think these big get togethers are starting to become a thing in the past, if they're not already - especially in
big cities. It is true, as I can say so first hand; the internet generation just isn't interested like the baby boomers or even great depression/prohibition generations previously were. It's sad, but sometimes reality is ugly.
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Old 05-04-2016, 03:17 PM
 
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When my maternal grandmother was dying of cancer, my aunt (her daughter-in-law) organized a family reunion so everyone would get to say goodbye to her. There was one more family reunion the year after that but that was it. Both times it was done as a picnic at a large public park.
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