Barbara J. Hamby

Laughing the Pounds Off

Back in rainy Oregon it’s good to have a week’s California sun under my belt. I spent the week with my three sisters at the youngest sister’s home in Southern California. For about the last ten years we’ve had an annual get-together. We swap family stories, play games, laugh a lot, and do some sightseeing. Since we are all working on our weight most of the time, we noted that some of us lost a few pounds with all the laughing, in spite of eating very well.

As in previous years, we played Spite and Malice and I managed to win one game. I choose to think it speaks well for my nature that I can’t beat spiteful and malicious younger sisters. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

We also played a new word game—Bananagrams. My excuse for my pitiful performance is that I’m a writer who makes sentences—not words.

This year we were joined by my niece and nephew (daughter and son of one of my sisters). On the weekend, other assorted relatives, with their partners and offspring joined us for a buffet and several hours of visiting.

It’s always good to catch up on the younger generation’s activities. A seven-month-old boy entertained us at the big family gathering. He is a charmer with a happy disposition. His parents were in the middle of moving that day, but that didn’t seem to affect him badly.

My youngest sister, our hostess, has been working on family genealogy for a number of years now. She presented us with a list of all our first cousins. There are 28 names on that list, meaning I had 27 first cousins. Nearly half are gone now. I am the oldest survivor on both sides of the family. Originally only one cousin was older than I and she died many years ago. I guess I am a survivor. Next month I will have survived colon cancer for 21 years. I plan to try for more.

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