We took this weekend off to go visit my parents. It was the July 4th holiday and we had just finished eating dinner that was prepared by the master barbeque chef my dad. It is always joke with me about how in most black families there are at least three entrees for dinner! Today was no different. My dad made sure that everyone was well fed by preparing plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, chicken and potato salad that would feed a city block! My sisters and their families came over as well so this made for a fun visit. Outside the humid Alabama heat was too much for anyone to handle so everyone stayed inside and had congregated into the dinning room for conversation.

The room was a bit crowded but I had some kind of connection with everyone in the room. One by one we began sharing the funny stories of family. There were stories that I have many times before but they were so funny you would never grow tired of hearing them. A few of these stories featured me as the main culprit in some usual predicament that usually ended up being a disaster. As I sat there it dawned on me how comfortable I was just to sit there with my family and laugh at myself. Some of the circumstances I couldn't recall but to hear my father tell his version of it made everyone in the room laugh hysterically. My mother has a sense of humor as well. Her perspective goes in a different direction but to hear her tell of the ups and downs of raising 6 children and working a full time job is just as amazing. The laughter is so contagious that tears roll down my sister's Toni face as my other sister Ronnie's looses her composure too as our silliness and banter draws her in.

My nieces and nephews are there too. They sit and listen eagerly to hear more funny stories about the childhood antics of their parents. It's such a joy to see them occasionally throw back looks of surprise at their parents only proving their parents weren't perfect either when they were kids. What we were doing in essence was celebrating our family. We all went through tough times and somehow we came out okay on the other end. We couldn't laugh about then. But today we were laughing about it now.

I know for me these were always the happiest times of my life. This is where I drew my identity from. Even though a few of my other siblings were missing I their presence didn't go unnoticed. I just knew loved my family. They are not perfect by any means but nonetheless they are mine. Just as I am overjoyed by their presence I am just as sadden by their absence. We are growing older now and it's a struggle these days to grab these special moments. Some of us are becoming grandparents helping to raise the next generations of Lewis kids. Sometimes I wish I could back to our house on Tobin's Lane where I had my own room with the rear window that faced our small neighborhood. From there I would sit and dream my dreams.

The were so many sights and sounds, many I can't remember. Just like is now as it was before, all of us would be gathered around the dining room table sharing our funny stories making each other laugh with no end. These good times were free and didn't cost anyone anything but their time. I truly believe that our most prized possessions are not things but the memories that we can build from each other. Things will always erode and pass away but the memories that we have of each other will last us a lifetime and beyond. This is truly what I am reminded of.