Every two years or so, we organize a reunion of Kathy’s family and friends and descend on a campground. The last one was two years ago in the Island Park area near Yellowstone. You can read a little about it here. This year, the craziness is happening at Pineview Reservoir, for five nights, from August 6th through August 11th. We’ve got six campsites and nearly fifty people confirmed.

The important thing for us at these reunions is the inclusion of close friends. Everyone in life has two kinds of family – the relatives they are born with and the family they choose for themselves. For Kathy and me, these relations are much closer than the ones we have with our true family members. No offense is meant to either of our families in saying this, but it’s true. Relationships with family members come pre-packaged with certain obligations that are not required in the early stages of friendship. Deep friendships have obligations of their own, but in most cases you’ve been able to vet them before those obligations are assumed.