Memorial Day

Everyone knows you can't rely on my memory but wasn't it Memorial Weekend that we had the Basford Family get-togethers at Manson Park?  (maybe it was July 4th)  Anyway, not that it's the first time but sitting here this morning is the first time in quite a while that I've been struck by how much I miss them still.
Imagine how different but still great it would be to do that again with hopefully all hands on deck.  We have adults in the family now, some with their own kids, who don't remember those.  That's a shame.  No disrespect to my Uncle Wayne's family gatherings -- they're great -- but nothing compares to those days of yore.  Is there any way we could try to do that again, with lots of advance notice, even if it was just once?  This Memorial Day is probably too soon but I would like to stoke this idea while it's fresh, or definitely next year.  Below is a picture of Stanley Jr taken at one of these.

Notice the farm that no longer exists

And just briefly, while I'm on the topic of Memorial Day, let's not forget those loved ones who are no longer with us and try to take a little time out of our busy lives to not only remember them but to ensure that their graves are maintained.
This is a link to a great piece that Aaron wrote on this topic a couple of years ago.  I think it worthy of a reread.
Lastly, since I'm writing this on Mother's Day, maybe it work spark someone to write a short piece about their mother...there are certainly many to choose from in this family.

A Christmas Memory

Look at what I found while snooping around at Mom's -- the game drawer!  Yatzee!  Sorry, I often don't have a Clue while I'm on Trivial Pursuits.

That cribbage board in particular has many memories attached to it because, while it's a game like the others, that old thing has been around forever and conjures up some very specific memories playing cribbage with mom.  The pegs are still all there too.  What you don't see in this picture is the other popular games we played as kids -- Yatzee to Monopoly and everything in between -- in the two drawers below this one.
I remember we always got a board game as a family gift at Christmas; and while we did spend some time playing them around the holidays, when I was a teen, the age difference between the oldest child in the family and the youngest didn't necessarily lend itself to common interests in the games. 
 I do, however, have many fond memories of coming home for Christmas as a young adult while my younger siblings were still home and all of us spending a great deal of time together, catching up with each other, talking and playing these games.  It was a cool time to be a big brother, those early years when we're all adults for the first time.   I'd personally trade all the gifts in the world for one more Christmas like that with the whole family hanging out together and playing some of those old games.