The Clan Gathers

This weekend, Josh and Miss Mouse and I made a pilgrimage to the land of my roots. (Josh points out that I've never actually lived in Iowa, but I dismiss this as irrelevant). The reason for using my only vacation of the year to schlep to the middle of a cornfield was simple: my People were gathering.

That's right, all of my extended family on my mother's side came together to celebrate a momentous occasion: my grandfather's 90th birthday.



Can I just pause here for a moment to say how absolutely amazing my grandfather is? I won't even regale you with his stories about growing up in India (though I could -- you just say the word and the snake-and-tiger-stories will flow...). I'll just focus in on the fact that, at the age of 90, my grandfather still:

• Drives
• Rides his bike regularly
• Takes and develops photographs that would make Ansel Adams gnash his teeth with envy
• Performs with a well-respected symphony orchestra

That's right. I think it's safe to say that he's in better shape and is more active in his community than I am. It's simultaneously embarrassing and inspiring to come to that realization.

And thus, to celebrate the man that is my grandpa, all of his progeny (and their spouses) got together for the weekend. The generational breakdown went like this:

1 awesome grandpa
5 children
3 spouses of said children
9 grand children
5 spouses of said grandchildren
7 great-grand children (if you count two in utero, which we do)

And yes, we wore matching t-shirts.