Sandberg Family Reunion

So there was this one time when I planned a reunion for 100 people.

I cannot tell you what a surreal experience it was. I am the seventh child of a sixth (and youngest) child. My aunts and uncle and even most of my cousins have always seemed very grown up. This year when Uncle Gilbert wrote me a check for $4000, I definitely felt initiated into the grown-up club.

As I planned and executed the reunion activities I was constantly plagued by the feeling that I was an impostor. Luckily my sister Felicia, a real adult, was my co-planner. So glad we were there for each other. And somehow everything went okay. It wasn't perfect, but I think people had a pretty good time.

Here was the basic itinerary:

Friday July 29:

1-3 pm: Hang Time

5 pm: Bonfire at Nunn’s Park

Saturday July 30:

11-1 pm: Lunch at Charlotte and Kathleen’s church

1-5 pm: Swimming/playing at the Rec Center

5-7 pm: Dinner on your own

8 pm: The Music Man at Sundance Summer Theater

Sunday July 31:

11:00 am: Lunch at the chapel pavilion

1:00 pm: Church

And here are some pics I managed to take.

I'm so glad my parents were able to be there. I'm not sure I would have survived the actual reunion without them.

My favorite activity was the play--my former acting professor played Mrs. Paroo. She was amazing! Every moment she was on the stage was a treat. It was cool to see her doing all of the things she had been trying to teach us college kids to do. I also thought Harold Hill was one of the best I've seen (and I've seen many). And there were several lines that I finally understood for the first time. This is saying a lot because I've been in this musical twice and basically had the show memorized. Some of that understanding is being an adult instead of a teenager. But most of it was because the actors actually understood what the lines meant and delivered them well.

Can we just say, though, that The Music Man has a very strange moral message?

My least favorite activity was being in charge of the tickets to the play. I was terrified that we perhaps ordered the wrong number or lost some or forgot someone. I was so relieved when I got those things out of my hands.

Everyone who came was so supportive and kind. I was really grateful for that. Giant kudos to everyone who has planned a reunion in the past and will in the future! I feel your pain. Thank you! And now I can look back and remember that I once did something hard/stressful and survived.