Ordinarily I would be out in Loudoun on this crisp, beautiful morning (it was 59 degrees at 6 AM, it is almost fall already) after a rustic night's sleep. But I had a civilized night's sleep in my own bed because the house is full of family and guests and it would have been too odd for me to stay in Loudoun all by myself. Not that I am doing any significant amount of hosting here -- Alissa has been managing all the cooking ever since she got off the plane from Guatemala. I feel lucky that I managed to clear the kitchen counter on Sunday in the middle of the day, before everyone started to arrive. That seemed like an important welcoming step. As it turned out, it was serendipitous because Benjamin had an unexpected fast-paced dinner party on Sunday night, feeding some friends who were in town to play for the contra dance at Glen Echo.
Anyway, the house is completely quiet. Benjamin is sleeping in the basement but not in his own room because it has been turned into a guest room and there are guests. Hugh is sleeping in the messy middle room downstairs. Alissa and David and Rebecca are all upstairs. This house goes to bed very late. I have the most real estate to myself, sleeping-wise, since Jon is in Shreveport this week.
Last night Alissa and company created a sandwich bar for dinner -- Jon and Peio would have loved it -- and we ate on the porch for the first time all summer long. Thirteen people and we haven't even started the real festivities.
Tomorrow is the Newcomb Family Reunion 2015 in Virginia. The time/date was chosen in January 2014 when Jon and I were visiting my cousin Helen in Lucca, Italy. We found a date that we knew would work for the Italian cousins, and we promised ourselves we would make it happen. And so tonight the Newcombs from Boston and Italy will arrive and tomorrow we will spend the day together. When the Newcombs from Boston host the reunions, they make plans and prepare and rent a space. When the Newcombs from Virginia host (our first time), we plan the food and provide the venue and we will wait to see what happens when we are all together.
Forty years ago the earlier generations of this group would gather for weeks at a time here in Virginia. Our cousins would come to stay with our grandparents in the house on Beulah Road and we would swim, practice for The Show, sing, eat, work at the stand, and have sleepovers for big chunks of the summer. This tradition lasted for well over ten years. So the generation that is Hana, Lani, Anna, Charles, Carrie, Helen, Owen, Nathan has a group identity that is old and stuck in time. The next generation of our own kids has a less solid identity but they do know each other. Sarah Newcomb has provided a consistent and open home for her offspring and all of the second cousins, and the Monday night dinner tradition includes any Newcomb relatives that are in Boston.
Anyway, there will be a story coming out of this weekend, I am sure. Meanwhile, I have to get back to getting some ground ready to plant some fall seeds. I already had to take off everything I was wearing this morning because the dew was so heavy that I got soaked from head to foot, picking zinnias with Carrie. I am dry and ready to go again.
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