Have I ever mentioned how much I love my cousins? Not just because they're family and I HAVE to like them... I genuinely love my cousins and enjoy spending time with them. We don't all see each other nearly often enough, and that probably amplifies my enjoyment of the time I do get to spend with them... and makes me want to see them more often. I saw almost all of my cousins on my dad's side of the family this weekend at my youngest cousin's wedding. We sat together at the kid's table. I guess we'll never get away from it. But we had a great time catching up and it just made me want to see them more often.
My parents and my aunts and uncles (on both sides of the family) did a wonderful thing while we were all growing up. They got us all together, at the very least, for all of us kids' birthdays. On my dad's side of the family, there were seven of us. Some of us had birthdays fairly close together and I think those celebrations were combined, but all those birthdays still allowed us to get together several times every year. On my mom's side of the family, there are only four of us, and we all got together several times a year, too. In a way it was easier with mom's side of the family because we had to coordinate with only one other family, as opposed to two other familes, for get-togethers. But it worked on both sides of the family, and I grew up KNOWING my cousins, not just knowing who they were. I honestly don't know a lot of people today who can say that.
We are a diverse group. Of the original cousins (not counting those that have since married into the family), I am the oldest on both sides of the family . Oddly, the youngest on both sides is also female, with boys in between on both sides -- two on my mom's side; five on my dad's. Three of my cousins, as well as my brother and I, are now married, and another is in a long-term relationship. So there are six more cousins in the crew now, bringing the total to 12 on my dad's side of the family; seven on my mom's.
We range in age from 25 to 38. Our chosen professions are all over the spectrum -- publications manager/editor, insurance underwriter, dock supervisor (unfortunately, currently unemployed), student (soon to be medical billing/coding specialist), radio big whig, actor/boring day job toiler, actress/life-sucking day job survivor, corporate communications professional, chemical engineer (I think), waiter/cook, teacher, train route scheduler (I think that's what the newest official addition to the cousins does... something for Amtrak, anyway), sheet metal genious, another teacher, and a journalist. I think we are all successful at what we do and, for the most part, enjoy it as well. We are spread out across five states -- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas.
Where am I going with this post? I don't know. Nowhere, really. I just spent a lot of time thinking about how awesome my cousins are when I was driving home from my parents house yesterday (after the Eagles beat the Giants... Woooo!!) and how I don't think in this day and age that it's necessarily normal to (a) KNOW all of your cousins, (b) actually LIKE ALL of your cousins, and (c) make a concerted effort to keep in touch with said cousins (email and Facebook help a lot!). I just felt like I wanted to write about it... and for those of you who are reading this, I love you and I'm so glad I'm related to you. :)
It's easier to see some of my cousins than others. My youngest cousin on my mom's side of the family, and her hubby, live very close to my parents. I actually saw them for breakfast yesterday morning, which was great! Her brother doesn't live as close, but I see him about once a year and I keep up with him through his sister and my aunt. I see the cousin that is the new bride and her hubby a few times a year -- either Thanksgiving or Christmas, and usually at the shore over the summer. Same with her older brother. The NY/NJ cousins I've seen more in the past five months than in the past few years because of family weddings. Logistically it's harder to see them, BUT I do keep in touch more with them via Facebook. We've vowed to try to see each other more often going forward. One thing seems clear -- it appears that no matter how old we get, you'll always find us together at the kids' table. But that's okay. It's fun there. :-)
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