When I married into the Garfield family I not only got a husband, I got a mother-in-law, a sister-in-law, many uncles, aunts and cousins. My family is very small so it was a bit overwhelming to become part of such a large close family.
"The Garfields" had a club which met once a month at a family member's home. They were supposed to take turns hosting the meetings but for one reason or another, "they couldn't have it at their home because it was being renovated." Another relative couldn't have it because they were going to be out of town at that time and so it went.
Not to long after we were married, it was our turn!!! I was working full time, had a new house that needed to be furnished and I was adjusting to a whole new life. And would'nt you know, it was our turn to host the meeting!!
What do you serve thiry -five people - I sure wasn't going to cook or bake. My mother-in-law came to my rescue, she made lots of delicious pastries and I supplied the bagel, cream cheese and coffee They loved it!
Time went by and before you know it, it was my turn again!! Not fair, but what's a girl to do. The aunts were getting older and finding it difficult to entertain. The younger cousins were always coming up with some reason they could not take the meeting.
At one of the meetings my husband made a suggestion, since we were having such a hard time finding people to host a monthly meeting he suggested we meet every other month. I thought that was a great idea but a die hard relative spoke up and said, "no way, we are going to continue to meet monthly. There was no vote taken, her word was the law.
At that point the meetings could not be held on a regular basis because we were still having difficulty finding a place to meet. Well the die hard relative came up with a solution, we would rent a room at the "Girls Club" in downtown Lynn. No one said a word and that's what happened. She and another die hard relative took care of all the details.
We rented the place for a few months but things were changing, meeting in a hall just wasn't the same as getting together in someones home. After a while we only met on special occasions.
So, when I rode by the "Girls Club" I thought about all the Garfields (even the die hards) and the good times I had when we were together..