Sounds like a great idea, Gwen. Our mom is still alive, 80 years old. But both of her sisters and several of our older aunts in her age bracket have passed on. Our cousins now seem to look to our mom as a favorite aunt and have began to keep more in touch with us, especially her now.

We just got together this past July for, sadly, another funeral. I was shocked to see a man in the church at a distance who was the spitting image of an uncle who died in 1991. It was too crowded to get to him, and I just shook my head and said to myself, "It's a shame we don't know our own people". Nobody I talked to in my immediate family has any idea who he could have been, but we know he's family.

Anyway, congratulations and here's wishing you all continued success on your family retreats.