Gem-fest 2025-Calais, VT
We had a shortened timeline, and not all the loved ones could attend, but another Gem-Fest has been celebrated. Buddie's Dad found a huge house with its own pool, sleeping space for the whole crowd, and proximity to a few towns if people wanted to explore further afield.
Only a 90 minute drive from where we were staying in Middlebury, VT, at the beginning of the week, the Wednesday morning drive to the Gem-Fest house was quick and easy.
With 21 people to place in beds, Yessa and a cousin or two got together to catalog the sleeping spaces and decide who would go where.
Each year I am more grateful for this generation of cousins. These kids are so kind and funny and helpful. That's my favorite part of the week; seeing them laugh and play together, observing how they have grown and changed since we were last together, and trying to get a little time to chat with each of them if I can.
Cousin Meg designed the T-shirts. Note the diamond in a lovely nod to the ceremony at the beginning of the week. (Buds is crafting a blog post about that.)
Another highlight of this week was game play. This family is amazing at creating a game out of anything!
We play regular board and card and sport games, as people do.
Volleyball in the regular ways:
Rebecca and Ray found a new outdoor game that brought many hours of competition and laughter, Kubb.
Kubb was fun to watch, as well as play.
Those are regular games lots of people play. Then there's a whole festival of Gem-Fest ideas that morph into games.
Buddie put on a hat in a funny way, and immediately a game was dreamed up.
At the beginning of the week when our family stayed with Uncle Z and a cousin in Middlebury, they dreamed up a game of blowing on the tiny scale we carry with us for coffee making. How hard can you blow?
The pool gifted hours of entertainment of the regular kind...
But when that was too relaxing, power games appeared.
That wasn't exciting enough, so a variety of slam ball was dreamed up.
Thanks to Rebecca and Ray's ceremony at the beginning of the week, food for this Gem-Fest was largely provided by their delicious leftovers. I happily ate bean salad and Mexican rice all week, supplemented by Buddie's mom's maple syrup beans. Tens of pounds of pulled pork and beef also made the trip, so something for everyone.
Some folks went to a farmer's market and a baseball game. Many also enjoyed an afternoon wandering in Montpelier.
When Yessa shared this picture, I could not figure out why Eli was petting a mop.
Ohhhhh...
Another afternoon was spent with the parents, siblings, and most of the partners talking about long-term plans. I was so impressed by the loving kindness and thoughtfulness everyone put into the conversation and the overwhelming support and open honesty with each other. It was so valuable to discuss difficult topics when we are all together. At another time the whole group gathered to discuss future Gem-Fests. No definitive plans decided, but seeds planted.
Of course, when we're with Uncle Z, we try to get in a workout. The house had a range of dumbbells up to 50#, so a size for all of us.
As always, we gathered for the family photo, and I think this is my favorite one so far.
A few last shots of another year of connection and memory-building. May we have many more.
See you next year, you crazy kids.
