I spent Saturday in Long Island seeing my family. Originally I had a ticket to get there Friday but a glitch in air traffic control left me stranded until the next morning. What is meant by a glitch I'm not sure but everyone on my flight kept getting pushed to the next flight to NYC hoping to get standby. Very few people got on.
Eventually most flights going to the East Coast were cancelled but at least we got a semblance of a reason. At first we were told there was no flight nor would there be refunds. Then we heard it was the weather, though no news outlet reported any strange weather. The closest thing we got to an answer was the Atlanta dropped all their flight paths due to a technical error. Since Atlanta handles the air traffic of the Easy Coast, no one could fly out. I camped out in O'Hare rather than take the hour long trip back home only to be up in three more hours to get the early flight out. I seem to spend a lot of time in airports than is normal. Eight hours in San Francisco, nineteen in O'Hare, this is strange for someone who flies not that often.
On to New York. I met up with my grandparents and great aunt and made the drive out to Long Island to see everyone else. We got together to mark my grandfather's nintieth birthday though it also was for my grandmother's birthday and their anniversary. It was to be the last such event, since they don't think they will be around much longer and, if they are, don't want such a big deal made on them again. Truthfully, they are in good health. Both are forgetful, which is especially odd for my normally very sharp grandmother, and they have lost a good deal of weight but considering how far they've come it's pretty amazing.
Both my brothers were there, my sister in law, my two nephews and my niece. It was held at the new home of my cousin who recently moved from a very small two bedroom home into a three story home on the other side of the island. Every floor is marble, it has a huge kitchen, wraparound driveway, in ground pool, playroom with pool table and a bar. I felt old seeing my young cousin not only as a mom with two kids but in such a home, the kind you'd spend your entire life planning and saving for.
Had a great time playing with my nephews, talking to all my cousins and all the family I never met before or haven't spent a lot of time left. With both cousins getting married recently, our family has grown quickly so I don't even know who's who.
There were no problems, nothing holding up the day. Everyone got along and my grandfather was touched. It was one of those times you look to when things are going bad; "Some day we'll all get together and things will be much better." Everything feels great, though when so many of my family gets together I always think how much my mother would have enjoyed it.