The Greatness of Being a Cousin

Cousins are great!! I have a lot, and I'm the oldest of them all. It's been fun seeing them grow and change. And now we're (almost) all adults. It's so crazy!!

Recently I have had contact with two of my cousins. My "writer" cousins. Ironically, both wrote/write for the State News in East Lansing.

I had not seen my cousin K in a very long time. We were reunited this summer after a family tragedy. Little did I know that she literally lived minutes from me, despite the fact that I had relocated several times since leaving our home town after high school. We talked a bit that day, tentativley becoming reacquainted. Since then, I have been following her articles in the State News. We got to meet for a quick lunch, and continued to get to know each other. I'm so excited to keep finding out about her and what her life has been since we saw each other so many years ago. It's funny, even though it was probably 13 years that passed between our meetings, I see the very same person in her eyes. Even though we don't really know each other, I KNOW HER!!

Not quite as much time has passed since I have seen my cousin E, but I do miss her. She, her husband and son live "al sur de la frontera" and have for a few years. (Fingers crossed) they will be back very soon, but it makes me miss all the things that they've missed with us, and we've missed with them. Little M was born while they've been away, and I haven't been able to see the first member of our next generation grow!! I am looking forward to the time ahead when, hopefully, we can all share in that experience as that generation of the family expands. A whole new set of cousins!! (Incidentally, E, I have the picture of M at the zoo, with the bear, on my desk at work. What a pick-me-up!!)

I know that this has been a sappy post, but I write it with all my heart. Never forget how lucky you are to have family.

This post is dedicated to E, J, J, A, J, A, TL, K, K, and J. I love you guys!!