OKLAHOMA REUNION (2026)

I was so excited for Grace and I to head to Oklahoma for Memorial Day weekend. The Thursday before we left my therapist told me to be aware of when my 7-year old self and teenage self showed up during the trip. She's so, so good.

Last fall I had I planned a link up for my mama's kids and their kids but the plans were disrupted. My mama has 7 kids and amongst all of us there are 15 grandkids spanning from a couple of months to 18 years old. We all live between Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Brooklyn. The trauma of our family dynamics has weighed heavy on me for years and for so long I've wanted to intentionally work on familial healing but never had a clear path to start, especially since I moved away when I was 18.

This year I gathered all my nieces and nephews full names, birthdays and phone numbers in my phone's notepad and started a "Cousin Group Chat" with them and one of my sisters. I started planning monthly Zoom dates for us to all get together, play games and get to know each other better. It's been the cutest time with those babies.

For this May 2026 trip, I got aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa and cousin shirts made for all of us and booked a VIP room at an OKC trampoline spot for us all to link up. My brothers, sister, mama, grandpa and a gang of kids pulled up and had the first ever Carter Family Reunion. While my daughter is super close with her family here in Brooklyn, it was her first time meeting a lot of the family on my side. We had almost 25 attendees and it was the best money I have ever spent.

There weren't any arguments, drinking, worrying about funds. It was the healthy clean slate that I needed for my family. We were the adults and showed those babies nothing but a good time. So different from what we experienced as kids and I am so grateful for it.

Between the family reunion vibes, I was also able to be present for my day one high school best friends as their daughters walked across the same stage we graduated from. The same place we battled life together and became life long sisters. The feeling was indescribable, I feel like we were just teenagers and now they are sending kids off to college. Such a flex, such a blessing.

My journey has often been a self-proclaimed solo one, but this weekend showed my 7-year old and teenage self that within the same place that I had to survive and escape from, there is now a safe space that includes a circle of loved ones and chosen family that are my foundation. And that my kid to also able create her own beautiful memories there and with them. Redemption is always the sweetest word.