From the 11th to the 14th of this month, I was in Tennessee’s Smokey Mountains with all but one of my mother’s side of the family. We were a little nervous organizing this get together for fear of family drama, but all 30something of us were pleasantly surprised. I have never been in a situation in which I was surrounded by so many people that I actually LIKED! Though I hadn’t seen most of these people in 15 years, if ever, it wasn’t hard to connect. It has grown to become one of my fondest memories.
The four of us (Jared, Caroline (his awesome girlfriend), Mom, and I) took a two hour flight to Tennessee, and then drove from Nashville to our cabin in the mountains. We got ridiculously turned around and explored just about every part of the Smokeys before we found our place. It was so humid I couldn’t believe it, but it caused the terrain to be lush and more beautiful than I could have imagined, so I suffered happily. It looked like a jungle.
Once we arrived, we unpacked, met everyone, and feasted upon Joy’s wonderful dinner. The next three days were a blur. I remember everything, but not chronologically. Every meal was wonderful; I remember Steve’s boiled peanuts, Amanda’s Gumbo, Mom’s Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and Nancy’s Crawfish Linguini. We bought way too much food and all stuffed ourselves. We watched the World Cup and Drunk History (look it up if you haven’t seen it – so funny). We went hiking a few times. We went river tubing, and mini cliff diving. … Okay more like rock diving. It was probably only about 15 feet at its highest point, but it was a big deal for me! We hot tubbed almost every night and stayed up late laughing together. We took a family picture at the end – Posted at the top - Just imagine ALL of us in one house.
There were three little guys, Jack, Emma Grace, and Boyd. These were my cousins’ children. Jack is the one with striking blue eyes that makes an undeniably adorable collection of sounds. Emma Grace was the oldest of the three, and is a beautiful, spunky little girl. I didn’t see her upset once during the entire trip, she’s a little angel. Boyd is a badass in the making. He walks like he’s on a mission, but has got a stare that will melt anyone’s heart. I’ve never fallen in love with children so deeply and so quickly, but I suppose there’s something about family that makes everything different.
The four of us (Jared, Caroline (his awesome girlfriend), Mom, and I) took a two hour flight to Tennessee, and then drove from Nashville to our cabin in the mountains. We got ridiculously turned around and explored just about every part of the Smokeys before we found our place. It was so humid I couldn’t believe it, but it caused the terrain to be lush and more beautiful than I could have imagined, so I suffered happily. It looked like a jungle.
Once we arrived, we unpacked, met everyone, and feasted upon Joy’s wonderful dinner. The next three days were a blur. I remember everything, but not chronologically. Every meal was wonderful; I remember Steve’s boiled peanuts, Amanda’s Gumbo, Mom’s Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and Nancy’s Crawfish Linguini. We bought way too much food and all stuffed ourselves. We watched the World Cup and Drunk History (look it up if you haven’t seen it – so funny). We went hiking a few times. We went river tubing, and mini cliff diving. … Okay more like rock diving. It was probably only about 15 feet at its highest point, but it was a big deal for me! We hot tubbed almost every night and stayed up late laughing together. We took a family picture at the end – Posted at the top - Just imagine ALL of us in one house.
There were three little guys, Jack, Emma Grace, and Boyd. These were my cousins’ children. Jack is the one with striking blue eyes that makes an undeniably adorable collection of sounds. Emma Grace was the oldest of the three, and is a beautiful, spunky little girl. I didn’t see her upset once during the entire trip, she’s a little angel. Boyd is a badass in the making. He walks like he’s on a mission, but has got a stare that will melt anyone’s heart. I’ve never fallen in love with children so deeply and so quickly, but I suppose there’s something about family that makes everything different.
I could have used a little extra time to really get to know everyone, but I had a great time. I got over my fear of heights when I went flailing off those rocks, I saw lightning bugs for the second time in my life, and I found out how to do boiled peanuts the RIGHT way. I decided for a fact that I want children one day, learned about my grandparents and family history, and giggled myself through the entire trip. The best part was seeing mom so happy. Seeing the relief pour over each of us as we realized that we weren’t going to kill each other. Mom’s dream has been to see everyone getting along in the same room for as long as I can remember. Jared and I were always worried that we'd have to call up each relative and go see them on our own. We thought this would never happen. Thankfully, now that it has, it’s going to become a yearly tradition! I love each and every person there, and hopefully I get to meet Parker, the cousin missing from the bunch, next year! I can’t Thank God enough for the many blessings I have – 30something of which consist of the Wilkes family.
- Caitlin
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