About the Work

"You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't." — Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)

“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”
~George Burns

While it is often hard for immediate family to ever forgive (and let you forget) the mistakes you made growing up: the misguided, uninformed and loudly expressed opinions on how life works, not to mention the bad hairstyle and fashion decisions you made over the years; luckily, later in life, there are many ways to create or acquire a new family.

In my case, my father fell in love, remarried at 65 and lived happily for another nine years. He said that it was worth the wait. He left behind a family I did not know. Someone else's family - but now my own.

The family meets every summer on a lake in upstate New York and for a few days each year I join them. It is a delight and privilege to spend time with people who enjoy each other's company. In return for this gift, I have recorded, in pictures, the reunions for the past nineteen years.