Final leg of the Mondo-cation: Jersey, Baby!

The girls were very sad to leave Manhattan.  Amara was particularly sad to leave our hotel room and Annika was sad to leave all of the excitement and fun.  However, just beyond the New Jersey turnpike our extended family on the Acharya side was slowly gathering from across the country.  Throughout the weekend we had various siblings and cousins make the trek to Somerset, NJ.   The longest travelers were the family members from Columbus, Montana (population 2,500) unless you count my uncle who joined in from Bangalore, India via both the Skype Video Monitor and Phone.  We literally were able to place him a chair while everyone came to talk him for about an hour.  Technology has come so far.   Just 15 years ago my mom only spoke to her mother and siblings once a month because the cost was too high around several dollars/minute to talk.  Now, you can talk to India unlimited for $40 dollars a month.  $40 was the price of one 20 minute phone call before.  So now, my mother not only gets to talk her family, she actually keeps up with what they eat and wear each day if they have time to update each other.   : )

I digressed from the reunion.  It was the usual blast with laughs and three generations of family all getting together under one roof.   Most of us Gen2ers stayed at a nearby hotel (Amara was thrilled again) and we all comingled at lunch and dinner.  It is amazing that we have not only been getting together at differing spots for the past eight years, but that in between these bi-annual reunions, we all still find time to see each other in smaller groups.

The first reunion happened after my uncle passed away.  He was the patriarch of the family and had most of us come through his home in Buffalo, NY.  He was basically Ellis Island and his wife was Lady Liberty holding the torch of welcoming the newest family members.   The love they both openly gave to all of their siblings and the food, shelter, clothing, and physical support literally built a web that connects even the third generation.  Buffalo is still a key gathering place and a gate to many happy memories for all of us who have called it home at some point.  Thanks Arun Mama, Harsha Mami, Minu, and Namita, for never turning us away.   You gave up your privacy, normalcy, and independent lives but for that price you built an army of people who would do anything for you.