FRI: Family Reunion Ideas

There's been talk of a Summer 2006 Bjorkman family reunion. I realize some siblings are still unsure about whether or not they'll be able to trek to Idaho this summer, but I thought I'd throw some ideas out there in order to 1) entice people to make the reunion happen, and 2) encourage others to brainstorm their own ideas.

I should also preface this by saying I'm aware of the usually loose structure of typical Bjorkman get-togethers. We chat, we eat mom's quality food, we have a few outings, we take it easy. Below, I am not proposing a regimented reunion. However, I think a reunion plan would help maximize our precious time together and "kick it up another notch.”

I present, in no particular order, my first round of reunion ideas:

• Outdoor Excursion- This could be as simple as a day fishing trip to perhaps a family overnighter, depending on what everyone (especially nieces/nephew) wanted/could tolerate.

• Piano Singing Time- This usually is a Christmas caroling tradition, but we didn’t really have the fam together last Christmas. We shouldn’t let the time of year prevent Tom, Steve, Jon, Dad, etc. from showcasing their vocal talents.

• Bjorkman Classic Movie Night- Stand and Deliver, Problem Child, Man From Snowy River, Dances With Wolves, Home Alone, Kindergarten Cop, Buttercream Gang, Bewitching of Ben Wagner J, Anne of Green Gables. These are just a few that we’d have to choose from if we recreated the magical movie moments of old for an evening.

• Classic Family Games- By nature, Bjorkmans are competitive when it comes to games. Based on past experiences with Aunt Patty and Co., I think this might actually be a Johnson thing. Regardless, we’d all probably enjoy the following: the animal game, Guesstures, the Farming Game, Axis and Allies, etc.

• G-ma Time- We’ll all need to take turns with the standard visits, but it would be nice if we did something above and beyond this. She’d remember and appreciate that. Suggestions welcome.

• Family Photo(s)- If everyone can come home, this will be my first priority. Our most recent “complete” family photo, which isn’t very complete anymore, was taken the last time all eight siblings were together—seven or eight years ago before Tom left for Russia. In addition to a professional family photo, we’d of course have numerous photos taken throughout the reunion.

• Video- We have the wedding classics, compliments of the brothers. I’ll leave this idea to the creative minds of Jeff, Jon, etc…but we could have some sort of documentary or other film production.

• Family Meeting- Aside from the possibility of a FHE of all FHE’s, we could take advantage of an opportunity for long term family planning. Last time we talked about delegating long term family responsibilities—Steve-finances, Jon/Amy-genealogy, Andrea- reunions, etc. We could follow up on this and plan anew. Plus, our attention spans should be much greater now than the ones that use to frustrate Dad :).

• Family Dinner- I propose we overhaul the usual family reunion dining/dish-duty setup. Instead of having mom shoulder the cooking burden, we could rotate meal time responsibilities. We have five couples and five individual Bjorkmans (including g-ma). My thought: pair couples with individuals and every pairing could have their special dinner night. So, for example, the Kansas Bjorkmans and Jeff could cook up Japanese specialty, the Louisiana Bjorkmans and Rebekah could concoct Cajun delicacies, Mom and Dad and me…etc., etc.

• Back-in-time Breakfasts- Maybe this is a second half of the family thing, but I have two main memories from every school day morning experience. 1.) Mom calling, “the bus is to the canal… the bus is around the corner…the bus is here!” and 2.) Marilyn’s specialty breakfast items: french toast, German pancakes, cherry cobbler, apple crisp, bread pudding, coffee cake, grape dumplings, cinnamon rolls (both bread and biscuit), and the list goes on. We had it good.

• Dishes- Dad and mom usually end up doing disproportional amounts of dishes. We should stop that. Once again, I propose a rotation of this responsibility. Families that work together stay together, right? Or something like that…

• Tennis Tournament- We could have six or seven doubles teams (mainly mixed) play a round robin tournament. For the record, I maintain that a Mom-Jeff partnership would make the most entertaining tandem and that team Eric-Karen could run the table.

• Other Athletics- I always enjoy a backyard flag (or sock) football game or pick-up basketball game. Maybe other Bjorkmans would too…?

That’s enough for now. I encourage everyone to consider the possibilities. Most of my ideas are walks down memory lane, but I am all for creating new traditions too.