This past weekend was Easter weekend. My sister Catherine and her crew (husband Chris, five kids) came in from Ohio and stayed with us so that they could join the Weizeorick Easter Extravaganza at Greg and Meg’s house Saturday. They came in Friday night, so, per our usual roles, Travis was in charge of cooking dinner and I was in charge of setting up beds and cleaning the house (keep expectations low here as cleaning is a developing skill…as it always will be). Fortunately, my kids are old enough to help with cleaning, and I’m old enough to help with cooking. After dinner Friday, we all settled in and visited, with kids jumping in and out of the adult conversations and kid activities. The house remained a loud hum as four adults and ten “kids” (Catherine’s five, my four, and Trent’s girlfriend Abby) enjoyed catching up. There were even some wagers as we bet on whether the trampoline would hold up under the weight of our not-so-little boys (three of them totaling somewhere near 400 pounds). It held, but it may have bottomed out a couple times.

At some point the adults retired to bed, leaving the next generation up to keep the house buzzing. As I lay in bed, I could hear the ten kids laughing and rough-housing in the living room below us. Despite the 10 year age gap (22 down to 12), they remained as a group whooping and laughing. I was reminded of the days when I was a kid and we travelled to the New Jersey coast to visit with relatives (both my parents were from Philadelphia). Back then, I was part of the group whooping and laughing and staying up half the night with my cousins. My dreams brought me back to those days as I fell asleep to the commotion in my house Friday night. Best night’s sleep in a long time.

Saturday, Travis and I had to run off early to watch Tessa play in a doubles tennis tournament. That’s part of the deal when you stay with family. You may be left to your own devices. And you may be left with our kids. Travis, Tessa, and I arrived late for the Weizeorick party in Lisle. As we walked up, I could see my nieces and nephews helping their kids find Easter eggs, taking pictures. Somehow, the torch had been passed and I hadn’t even noticed. My nieces and nephews were the ones monitoring the candy intake of their kids, chasing their kids around, making sure their kids ate dinner. It felt like de-ja-vu walking around the crowd Saturday. Later in the evening, during the giant knock out basketball game, my kids and their cousins dominated the game. No longer were we being nice to them to keep them in the game. In fact, they were ruthlessly knocking out the older group. The twelve Weizeorick siblings and spouses didn’t even win one game of knock out. The next generation has taken over. And now, we stayed later at Easter as the nieces and nephews with young children tried to wrangle their overtired kids into pajamas so they could get out the door to get the kids to bed. Not sure what the Weizeorick party record is, but Greg and Meg served 69 people Easter dinner Saturday night.

Nostalgia seemed ever-present last weekend.  Not sure why it hadn’t hit me this hard before now. Time waits for no one. I’m in this ride for the long haul. I’m now a part of the older group. My dad and his wife, Liz, could watch our chaos Saturday and Liz’s family chaos Sunday. I hope they see the love and chaos with pride. Someday, if I’m lucky, I hope to be in their seats at a family party. That will be the next torch pass. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. If you’re lonely on a holiday, just stop by the Weizeorick party. If anyone notices the addition, we will welcome you with open arms and add you to our tally at the end of the night.