Marty and I recently hosted a Lehenbauer reunion with his siblings and spouses at our home here in northern Kentucky. While perhaps not unusual, it was a big deal for us because Marty’s five brothers and one sister live all over the country, and this would be the first time in decades the “sibs” could get together simply as brothers and sisters.
Last summer, the family did have a large general reunion at a summer camp in central Illinois and it was a great time. We fished, swam, hiked, and played our favorite family games. The sibs were all there, but so were all our kids and grandkids (no great grandkids yet). And as awesome as that was, running after all the little ones and making sure they were fed, happy, healthy, and safe didn’t offer much time for adult catch-up. So, for that reason (and considering all of us are now in our fifties and sixties), we decided we were long overdue for some seriously fun sibling bonding time.
Thankfully, our backyard construction project was finally completed, so swimming, lounging, and pickleball were always daily/nightly activities. The first evening we treated the sibs to a Cincinnati region gastronomical must-do – A Skyline Chili dinner complete with coneys and Skyline’s unique take on chili spaghetti. Tuesday morning was a trip to The Ark, then an evening at The Great American Ballpark to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals. Wednesday took us to the American Sign Museum, a picnic along the Ohio River, then to the streets of downtown Cincinnati as we peddled our way from one giant hand painted mural to another in our own open air pedal wagon (great fun!). Thursday and Friday throttled down the activity schedule as the sibs and their spouses – sadly – packed up and headed back to their respective homes.
After everyone left I thought I would write a post about our sib reunion. I wanted to share:
- How much fun Marty and I had.
- How comfortable and relaxing the week was.
- How fifty- and sixty-year-olds can still laugh, and sing, and play like kids.
- How thankful I am to know I have five brothers and four sisters who will always have my back in good times and bad.
- How much love and respect we have for each other.
But I simply couldn’t find the right words.
Then, I realized all I really needed to write were those five sentences.
And perhaps something a little more. I realized that siblings, strong families, and beautiful gardens are really a lot alike. They all need:
Growth and Nurturing: Just as a garden requires care and nurturing for plants to thrive, family relationships need love and attention. Reunions offer a chance to nurture the bonds which help relationships to flourish.
Roots and Legacy: Both a garden and a family reunion are grounded in deep roots. A family stays strong and connected through ancestry, a shared history, and traditions.
Resilience: Just as gardens face the challenges of storms, droughts, or pests, families also experience difficult times—financial and personal losses, health challenges, or relationship stressors. Families survive and thrive when family members lean into each other’s strengths as a source of support.
Love: No garden is perfect. Sometimes our gardens flourish, sometimes they struggle. Nevertheless, as gardeners, our love for our gardens and nature stands strong and undiminished. So too is the unconditional love we share with our siblings and families.
Thank you, Connie, Mark, John, Renee, Al, Laraine, Phil, Steve, Becky, and Tim, for being my brothers and sisters and for taking time to share a fun and blessed week with us. I love you all.
Happy gardening everyone and have a safe and wonderful week.
