Growing up, every summer my mom’s side of my family had their annual family bbq. I loved this day! My family and I would drive from Brooklyn to Long Island and spend a whole Saturday with my mom’s family and a bunch of close friends at my uncle’s house.
On our way there we would always stop at Dunkin Donuts to pick up a box of donuts and a box of munchkins. The munchkins were for me and my sibling to share on the way to my uncle’s house. I always loved the chocolate ones the best, so my mom made sure there were plenty of those in the munchkins.
There was always lots and lots of food from the beginning of the day till it late at night. There was a nice sized inground pool. I loved playing in that pool. By late afternoon there was usually a game of volleyball. Sometimes there would also be bocce ball.
I do remember this one particular BBQ where I wore my favorite green hoodie. I remember taking it off because I got too hot to wear it. By the end of that one night, I went to look for it, but I couldn’t find it. I was sad that I lost my favorite hoodie that night. I also knew there was nothing I could do about it.
As the years went by, the family BBQ’s started to change. Everyone was getting older. My cousin’s and I were growing up. They were inviting their friends and boyfriends. So I decided to ask my parents if I could bring my best friend to our family BBQ’s. My parents said yes. I knew they would. Bringing my friend made these BBQ’s more fun for me. I was a teenager at this point and wanted someone to talk to. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my parents, but hanging out with them at a BBQ just wasn’t any fun. Besides, my parents had my aunts and uncles to hang out with.
After my Nana passed away, the family BBQ’s changed again. It was no longer the BBQ that I grew up with, the one with close family and friends. It had become my Uncle’s BBQ for family and friends. This change made it feel awkward for me and my family to attend .
I guess you could say that was the end of an era, so to speak, for me. I enjoyed these BBQ’s very much growing up. Getting to spend time with my mom’s family. Having a blast in my uncle’s pool. I guess, like everything else, eventually all good things come to an end.
The above blog is from one of the chapter in my book Brooklyn Raised / Livin’ Upstate . If you liked it and would like to learn more about me growing up in Brooklyn, Living Upstate and eventually loosing my mom to cancer. You can read about it all in my book. My book is available on the kindle , nook, iBooks, Googleplay and paperback.
