Our much looked forward to three-day family reunion will be coming up soon. It is something that our children and grandchildren excitedly look forward to all year. It has been held in the mountains at Snowbird Resort for the past 30 years and has become a wonderful tradition. It has given each family a chance to share stories and to be brought up to date on the comings and goings of all family members.

We share in each other’s joys, stumbles, and triumphs and to seek out ways to serve other family members in need. A calendar is produced with everyone’s birthday on it to allow a card to be sent or a call to be made on that special day. Slideshows sharing pictures from the past have been produced and ancestors’ stories are revisited. New family research is shared and family talent is highlighted and enjoyed.

Without question, the family is the cornerstone of civilization and far and away the greatest social unit to best answer human problems in the history of mankind. Anything we can possibly do to build a greater foundation beneath it should be the goal of every father and mother. Family reunions are a great step in bringing strength and togetherness in keeping the foundation strong.

I went to the east coast not long ago to visit my daughter’s family. She has a huge pond in her neighborhood in which hundreds of geese live year-round. You have to be a little cautious where you step by the pond, but the geese are beautiful to watch. While visiting, I ran across the following story that lays out a foundation for families and brings to mind part of our family reunions’ value.

The lessons to be learned from the geese are certainly applicable to our efforts to make our communities a better place to live and work. The lessons also point out our responsibility to our family, community and to each other.

As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the bird following. By flying in a “V” formation the whole flock adds 71 percent more flying range than if each bird was flying alone. Lesson No. 1: People who share a common direction and sense of family and community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the birds immediately in front. Lesson No. 2: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will join formation with those who are headed where we want to go.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position. Lesson No. 3: It pays to take turns doing tasks and sharing leadership, with people as with geese, interdependent with one another.

The geese that are in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Lesson No. 4: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging not something less helpful.

When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow their fellow member down to help and provide protection. They stay with that goose until he or she is able to fly again or dies. The two geese then launch out to find another formation of geese to fly with until they find their own flock. Lesson No. 5: If we have as much sense as geese, we’ll stand by one another like they do. We will improve our families, our communities and ourselves by service and bonding with each other.

“Families are like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.”