This summer has been all about family. My cousin Charles threw a party to celebrate the birth of his third child, a son they named Avery. Cutest little guy, he never made a sound during the entire thing, and when I was saying goodbye to him, he smiled at me. Charles's other kids were really cute too. Lauren is a 7-year-old who is the living definition of 'precocious'. Aidan is a really shy 3-year-old. The majority of my mom's side of the family was present, which is a rarity. The only person missing was her youngest sister, my Aunt Shirley whom I visited last month in BC. I hadn't seen Charles in a really long time, or my cousin May (his younger sister) who has a new baby too, a daughter named Delaney. Terry joked that they named her in honour of her Irish heritage (she's Asian all the way). Annie (Charles's older sister) and her family flew over from Vancouver, which really made it a family reunion, and it was nice to see them again so soon. On our way home, I asked my mom and my Aunt Betty when was the last time the whole family had been together like that. They started naming the various funerals that had occurred in recent years. How sad is that? My aunt made a good point that for happy occasions, people have no problems making excuses not to make the trip ("Maybe next time"), but for tragic occasions, people find a way to be there to support the family.

Last night, I was by myself as the rest of my family went to a Beatles tribute show at Stage West in Mississauga with Annie and her family. So I drove over to Ellen and Michelle's house to hang out with them, since they're alone at home with my grandpa while their parents are in Europe. My grandpa was very surprised to see me there by myself, and I guess I don't blame him, since I don't think I've ever done that. I only go over to their house with the rest of my family, and usually on the weekend. Howie showed up too (after getting a little lost), and we were able to chat for a while and make fun of each other (we may have made fun of Howie more than anyone else).

Lesson of the day: Don't wait for the tragic occasions to reunite with family.

"I waited 'til I saw the sun, I don't know why I didn't come"