Goodbye's & Canasta

One of the very first words that Cade learned was "Bye-Bye".  Pete and I were so proud of our little guy for starting to use words along with his energetic wave and cheesy grin.  When Cade says, "Bye-Bye," he does so with joy and excitement.  It is as though he doesn't fully realize that some of these goodbyes are for a LONG time.

This weekend, Cade and I joined the Fountain Family Reunion - an annual family reunion of my mom's mom's side of the family, the Fountain's.  I grew up going to these reunions, enjoying fun with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents (everyone in the Fountain Family line is a close relative, no matter how distant).  In the past, we have gone so far as to make shirts for the occasion - thank you puff pant of the 80's and early 90's, put together a band - back in the day when I played the clarinet (yikes!), arranged water games for all the kids, etc.  But always, always, always, we play Hand and Foot Canasta.

Canasta is the official game of our family.  We learn as young children how to play, the costly value of a red 3 stuck in your foot (-300 points), and the fun conversations that surround this strategic, lengthy, and fun game of cards.  I can remember when I first learned how to play Canasta - I would walk around my mom, dad, Mema, and Papa as they played, picking out what everyone's next play should be, what to discard, and asking questions to help learn the game and get my particular Canasta strategy down.

Playing Canasta with our family is something I will miss when we move.  One of those many little things that I will gladly sacrifice, but miss oh so dearly, to serve our Lord and Savior.  This weekend we created another wonderful memory of spending time with our Fountain Family and playing Canasta that we will hold close to our hearts as we say goodbye and move to Indonesia.