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Show Reunions help stabilize families Properly planned family reunions can be a powerful anchor to the extended ex-tended family in time of social tur-bulance, tur-bulance, a Utah State University family life specialist says. "Family reunions call to our memories a sense of kinship, fond memories and an opportunity for us to share how much we care for one another," said Dr. Glen Jenson, associate professor in the Department of Family and Human Development at USU. Dr. Jenson suggested extended family gatherings can have value for both the young and the old. "Family reunions might well be a major factor in redirecting a wayward son or daughter. At the very least, they will give additional meaning and purpose to the concept of families," he said. Another important value of the reunion is for families to have a good time together, the USU professor said. A good family reunion will include, among other things, good food made with nostalgic family recipes, games with prizes for everyone and awards for such things as the family member traveling the furthest, the worst singer, or other categories the family decides upon, he said. Talent shows, sharing family favorites in music, taking family photos and stories from older family members are other useful activities, he continued. "Perhpas the most important of all benefits of the family reunion is that they educate the young and bridge the gap between this generation and the last generation and the generation to come. Often there will have been births or deaths since the last gathering, and this is an obvious orientation to the shortness of life and the importance of clinging to one's family as long as that opportunity is present," Jenson asserted. The USU professor recalled that Alex Haley called reunions "a means of communicating with our living kin" and a "testament of our heritage." "Reunions," Haley wrote, "are nothing less than a family's roots brought to the surface." Besides a good time, a reunion should provide some strengths to the family, Jenson claimed. This can be accomplished by having the reunions include an exchange of important family documents, workshops to help family members .with areas of concern, and mobilizing resources of the whole family to help a family member, who has experienced misfortune or has lost his or her way in. the journey of life, he said. Another important factor is to have every family member be involved in reunion activities, he added. The family life specialist's statement urged, "Why not plan a family reunion this year and experience the new meaning and feeling that comes from knowing a family can be together forever?" |