Cousins

Who are your cousins? How often do you see them?

When I was little, our cousins would come "home" from boarding school for Christmas and sometimes summer vacations. Anticipation was HIGH!  And we knew fun would be had! 

We also would drive 600 miles to "see our cousins" when we went to visit Grandma. 

Our own children get excited to see their cousins. "Will the cousins be there?" they always ask before we go to Grandpa's.  

We went to Grandpa's Sunday night. They knew only one cousin (in her early 20s) would be there, but then saw their second cousins pull up and shouted, "Our cousins are here!" [Their dad is Jim's cousin and an only child. We agreed early on that our children would call them Aunt and Uncle and vice versa.]

While at Grandpa's, I was speaking with one of Jim's cousins about her Christmas plans (and those of her children & grandchildren).  I mentioned how much our children love playing with her grandson. She said, "He loves being with them, too. He calls them his cousins." 

The lines get blurry between first cousins, second cousins, and second cousins once removed, etc. (although never for my dad). :) 

We were actually at Grandpa's Sunday night because of a cousin visiting from Oregon! 

Almost 100 years ago Jim's grandmother came from Oregon to the Midwest to marry Jim's grandfather.  Jim's Grandma was one of four siblings.  

And for decades, members of Jim's extended family took turns traveling to Oregon annually for the family reunion.  No one has done so in recent years.  But one of Jim's Grandma's nephews and his wife flew to the Midwest to visit for a few days to see family.  (He and his wife also came about a dozen years ago.)

It's easy to lose touch with cousins who grow up across the country, but it was heartwarming to see Jim's 95 year old dad reminiscing with his 80 year old cousin whom he has only seen at family reunions.