Travels with Mom

I struggle to put into words an event that was so life changing and amazing that even the most brilliant vocabulary doesn't seem to do it justice. How do I reduce this event to mere words? I will do my best, but for my readers, you're only going to get a small glimpse, a tiny piece of a week that left imprints on my heart for a lifetime. This has been my struggle for the last two weeks, which explains why I'm just now even making an attempt at this.

Two weeks ago my mom and I returned home after a week together in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the trip was to attend my mom's aunt and uncle's estate auction in New Holland. As stated in previous blog posts, my family roots are "plain," quite literally. My ancestral roots go back to "Horse-and-buggy Mennonites" and even Amish relatives. This auction, followed by a family reunion the next day, was quite a "blending" of the different cultures my family line contains.

This was the first time my mom and I ever took a trip together, just the two of us. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, but I will confess, I was a bit apprehensive about it too. We would be sharing a bed together in a quaint room at my mom's cousin's house and spending lots of time together in the car. Pre-trip, I wondered if such close quarters might cause bickering between us, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, these tight quarters and travel time brought bonding between us and a HUGE growth in our relationship. We had an entire day together after a day of travel and before the auction. We spent that first day with my Aunt Edna (my mom's sister) and my parent's long time friend, Clete. I'd heard a lot about Clete over the years, but had never met him. It didn't take long to realize that Clete and I shared a common sense of humor. Within an hour of meeting him, we were laughing and teasing and my mom and aunt gave us plenty to tease about.

The auction itself was something I will never forget for the rest of my life. The house my great aunt and uncle live in has been in the family for a very long time, in fact, my grandfather and all his siblings were born in that house. There were over 100 years of treasures in that house that were up for auction. Everything from quilts and milk jugs, to farm equipment and buildings (yes actual buildings to be torn down). Over a thousand people came out for the auction. The people watching was worth the travel alone! Family from all over the US traveled to New Holland for this monumental event (even my dad's brother and his wife came in from Ohio, even though it wasn't their family). The streets and property were covered with cars of all types, tons of bicycles and rows of horse-and-buggies. It really hit me just how far from California I was as I had an Amish man on my right and someone of an "alternative lifestyle" on my left. I was on sensory overload as I tried to take it all in. I was surrounded by family and strangers, all there to take home a piece of my family history. If you're wondering, I brought home a platter and a plate from the auction. I did bid on more, but that's what I ended up with.


The auction was followed up by a family reunion the next day. My mom's cousin, Roy, didn't want this opportunity of all the Hoovers being together to escape us without
the opportunity to share a meal together and share pictures and stories. It is said that from my grandfather's parents alone are over 700 descendants, and that number doesn't include the spouses. The Hoovers have large families, some over 12 kids each. Although it was raining and windy that day, it didn't stop about 200 people from gathering together under a large tent on the family property. There was lots of laughter and figuring out who were second cousins and first cousins-once-removed, and on and on. The family resemblances ran deep, despite the vast differences in our attire.

After a week of visiting different family members and sightseeing, we wrapped up our week with a day in Philly. We visited the Liberty Bell, the US Mint, Betsy Ross's house, memorials and more. Of course, a trip to Philly wouldn't be complete without a real Philly cheese steak!

There were so many times I wished the rest of my family could have been there to experience it, but God had a plan and I believe He orchestrated this trip to be just for my mom and me. Our relationship has had its ups and downs over the years as most children have with their mothers, but this trip definitely marked a new beginning for us. We grew to know each other as friends and learned to respect our differences and similarities. We laughed a lot and shared stories together and grew in our love for each other. A memorable moment for me was when my mom shared with me, with tears in her eyes, how much it meant to her to share this trip with me.