A Reunion for all Ages

If you know me well, you know that I come from quite a small family. And I mean very small. You can count the total number of aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides of my parents and the number falls under ten! So imagine my astonishment when I married Sunil and his first cousins alone are in the double digits. Wow! Lots of names and faces to remember but also lots of fun to be had. I honestly learned the meaning of family after getting married. I learned about sacrifice and trust, give and take, being loyal and being loved and also being there in all times - good or bad.

If there were ever a perfect definition of family, it would have been in the last ten days of what was touted as "The Senior Joshi Reunion". It was meant for all of Sunil's dad's living siblings and their spouses to come together for ten days of eating, laughing and reminiscing. There was plenty of that and more. I learned about family members that had passed and what they were like. I learned about how hard his older brother worked to get all of his siblings to America. I learned what struggles and sacrifices they all made so that we kids could have a good life. Wow. No Hollywood movie could get close to capturing these tender emotions on film.

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Tender thoughts and tears were shared when we celebrated Vishnu kaka's 73rd birthday

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Each day, they planned different activities that took them out and about in Jacksonville and as far as Lakeland to the Swaminarayan temple. A week from today, we had all of them over dinner and you know how nervous I get when there's a large dinner at our place. But thankfully, all went well and everything tasted good! And the best part of the evening was yet to come. We sat them all down and then Sunil gave an intro of a dvd that we created for them to view. Intrigued? You can check it out here: http://www.justinnetti.com/client/video/ There wasn't a dry eye in the house! Sunil and I had predicted some emotional reactions, but nothing like this. It was great. The ladies even got treated with custom-designed clutch purses from me in black and gold sari fabric and a copy of the dvd for the family. The emotions that were felt in that room on that night just can't be compared to any other I've felt with family. Especially this family. My family.

Dinner at our place

Karaoke night - you just had to be there!

Having a ball with Saloni and Arjun

Presenting Jag fans Nalin Sr. and Nalin Jr. (Sohan)

Oh yes, part of the fun - cooking and endless eating!

No Joshi get-together is complete without the very competitive card game of Zero

As one of the quotes in the dvd said, "the family you come from is just as important as the family you are going to have." I couldn't agree more. I love being a Joshi. So, thanks to you "Seniors" for everything you have done to bring us here and to teach us that family is the only unit that will always be there for you. No matter what.