Cousins

Funerals are a strange custom; it is a time to say goodbye to your departed loved one, but also a time to see family you have not seen in forever. My Mom came from a large family, and she had a large family, so cousins have always been a big part of my life. My parents moved out of the small town where they grew up, and moved to the big city a while before I was born. This left my Mom`s large family a long car ride away.  When I was growing up my summers were spent with cousins visiting us, or us visiting them. Such cherished memories.

The top picture is of me with some of my cousins on our Grandma`s front porch. The bottom picture is of me, on the top right, with two of my cousins, my little brother, two of my nieces, and a boy from down the street, all in my front yard.                               

Having six siblings, I always thought our kids would grow up the same way, visiting and staying with their cousins. My oldest sister`s kids were so close to my age that they were more like siblings. My younger brother is 2 months younger than my niece. The next group of nieces and nephews were born when I was a teenager, so I babysat them often. My older brother and I were the last to have children and our kids are the youngest 1st cousins. Then, like my Mom, I was the daughter that moved away and it was more than a short car drive to visit.

This is one of the few occasions that my kids spent a Holiday with their cousins.

It was just not meant to be. No cousin visits or sleepovers for my kids. We would get together on holidays or special occasions, and it was so wonderful to see all the cousins, that span in age by 30 years, jell and have so much fun together. They all have my Mom`s sense of humor and gift of gab.

I have a policy of not using pictures of my family, so the faces are blurred. We are missing two cousins in this picture, one had to leave early, and one was still driving in from the east. These cousins represent five states and span from coast to coast. 

So it was fitting that on this occasion they all catch up on what has been happening in each of their lives. As my family was gathered in the funeral home during visiting hours, receiving family and friends, I watched the cousins. They started in small groups of two or three, and then as time went on the number of groups were fewer, while the number in each group grew. Soon it was just one big cousin circle. My parents' grandchildren, talking and laughing like at a wonderful family reunion. To see these cousins relating to each other the way their parents (my brothers and sisters) relate to each other was so very special. My Mom and Dad had to have been looking down with a smile, and with such a sense of pride as to the amazing legacy they have left on this Earth.