Imagine a family reunion where happiness and joy are present, where there is food to share with those you care about, and where everyone is unified and spending time together.

This family gathering took place in the summer of 2022 in the Dominican Republic where the blazing sun caused tropical temperatures that I felt upon my skin. My brother, mom, and I were already staying for a little while at my grandma’s house in the countryside, where the reunion/gathering was taking place, for about three to four days.

The house has a big, free-spaced area, but there is a specific area in that space where we have our reunions and gatherings, which is when you enter the place, you will see a rooftop area with no walls, which we call the ranch. All my mom’s twelve siblings were going to be there. This also includes my cousins and my mom’s siblings’ spouses.

I thought of every single possibility that could have happened there, from the (video) games I was going to play with my cousins, the food that my family was going to cook, and the topics we were going to talk about. When I thought of the food, I was already thinking about the various tastes and smells of the savory food they were going to cook for our reunion that we were going to eat.

***

I was getting changed and prepared to proceed to the reunion when the time came. My mom helped around the house to prepare it for when my family arrived.

The house was ready and tidied up for the guests (family members) who would attend. The only things that were needed were simple things that we needed that my family was going to bring like ice, drinks, and some snacks, but besides that, we were good to go. After waiting for some time to pass, the moment finally arrived.

“Hello, everyone!” my aunt, Lucila, said with a smile. “It’s so nice to see you guys again.” She was the first one to arrive with her husband, Jaime. She has three older children who are grown up and can drive themselves to the countryside.

“Hey! How are you?” my mom said with a happy expression. She looked like a pig in the mud when she saw her. She went to hug and greet her like it had been ages since she had seen her. My aunt returned the hug to her.

“I am good, what about you?”

“I’m also good!”

“I’m glad to hear, where are my 2 nephews?” my aunt asked while she was putting her things down.

“They’re both inside.”

“Ok, let me go inside to greet them,” said my aunt. But before that, she said hello to my grandma. “Hello, mother!”

“Hello dear. God bless you!” my grandma replied, sitting in her wheelchair.

She walked inside the house to greet us. She was happy to see both of us alive and kicking.

“Hello boys!” She opened her arms far and wide to get a hug from us. Me and my brother both went to greet her with that hug.

“Hello, Aunt Lucila,” we both said after we finished our hug with her.

“How are you guys?”

“We’re good.”

“How has your guys’ stay in the Dominican Republic been?” She looked at us as if we were the center of the world.

“We have enjoyed it here,” I said with a sincere face. We have never had a trip that has gone wrong, especially in the Dominican Republic because most of our family from our mom’s side lives here.

“Well, that’s great to hear!” she exclaimed with a smile on her face. She went to her car to grab the stuff she brought to the reunion.

A few more minutes passed, and more people started to come, there came my uncles with their wives, my aunts with their husbands, and my cousins also came. There came my other Uncle Jaime, my mom’s brother, and his wife, Claribel, and my cousins Haroll and Saul. My aunt, Miguelina, was also there. I was also surprised when I saw my mom’s half-sister, Anny, with her grandson, and my mom’s aunt, Onelia. I met them both for the first time on the same day. I would mention the others that were there, but it would be an insane, lengthy list because of the number of siblings and family my mom has.

After everyone was here, we all ate the savory taste of roasted pork with rice and salad. It made my mouth water just to see my full plate. When that food went inside my mouth and hit my taste buds, I felt like I was in food heaven. I ate happily, and after that, I felt stuffed from all that eating. I was going to spend time with my cousins, but we all needed to find out what we needed to do.

“What do you guys want to do?” my cousin Haroll asked all of us. He was sitting down with a bored expression on his face as if he were watching the paint dry.

“We could play Super Smash Bros,” I commented while I was getting my Nintendo Switch ready. I wanted to play Super Smash Bros. to spend some quality time with them.

Everyone thought that was a good idea, so that is what we did. Since there were a lot of us, we had to share controllers. Luckily, the game had a compatibility of eight controllers, so we decided that the loser of each round would have to share with some that did not have a controller.

After a couple of matches went by, I decided to go out and get a drink. I went outside, where all the adults were located, and they were all talking, spending their time with each other, some were even dancing to the merengue music (one of the usual genres of music played there) playing in the background. It felt like happiness was moving around with us.

I went to where the coolers were and grabbed some ice, and then I poured some Coca-Cola into the cup, seeing the bubbles dance as if they lost their marbles and hearing the popping fizziness of the drink. I felt a refreshing sensation upon my taste buds that tasted like a sweet, delectable treat.

Then I came back and grabbed a controller from whoever lost, and I started to play. I would sometimes have the winning hand in the rounds. After some more matches, we decided to stop and go outside and talk for a little bit.

“So, when are you guys going back to Tampa?” my cousins asked with a curious look on their faces. They wanted to spend as much time as they could with us before we left to return to Tampa.

“July 27,” my brother replied. He grabbed a chair to sit down in and started to engage more in the conversation we were all having.

“Nice! How has your stay in the Dominican Republic been?” Haroll said after a sip of his refreshing soda.

“Good, we have a couple of weeks left,” I addressed with a neutral face.

The reunion kept on going. My cousins put on the songs of their choice. One of the songs that my cousins chose made one of the children dance.

But, in life, good things end. We said bye to all the family members that made it to the reunion. My brother, mom, and I were still going to spend the night at my grandma’s house.

***

This is one of the things that makes me closer to my family. I enjoyed my time here, but new memories will be made in the future. There may be similar events like this one, maybe even better or worse ones, but hopefully, the good days will triumph over the bad days in the end.