Family Reunion 2025

My in-law’s family reunion took place in Galveston, Texas this year. The gathering gave our extended family an opportunity to spend time together.

Everyone bonded over food; therefore, we never ran out of food. We had many dishes including Texas BBQ, a whole roast pig, seafood boil, and pork offal porridge. Our entire clan, 25 of us, also visited the Kim Sơn buffet, which featured many delicious Vietnamese dishes, my personal favorites included vermicelli in fish broth (bún nước lèo).

In previous years, I provided hard liquor. This year, one of our uncles cleaned up his liquor cabinet and brought three crates of alcohol including cognacs, champagnes, and wines. We emptied two bottles of XO, two bottles of Hennessy, and a bottle of Courvoisier.

For activities, we chilled by the pool, relaxed at the beach, and played ping pong, card games, and poker. The house was always filled with conversations, jokes, and screams.

The family reunion started the year I met my wife. We weren’t even married yet. Even though we missed a few years, especially during COVID, we kept going. Many things had changed over 16 years. The kids had grown. We welcomed new members as well as bid farewell to our aunts and uncles. Despite a few unfortunate events had occurred, our bond had remained strong.

As the older generation is becoming frail, our generation will need to step up to continue the tradition for the next generation as well as the future generations. Spending time with your extended family once a year is priceless.