Up to the Date
I have a cousin who lost both of his parents at a fairly young age. His mother died when he was a child, maybe 7 or 8. His father died just after he'd gotten out of high school. (I blogged about this particular uncle a few weeks ago as the one who really loved his nieces and treated each of us as unique and special.) This cousin is basically the same age as Super Mom so they grew up as friends. Before they got married, his girlfriend lived moved to our city and lived with my family.
With all those ties, I wasn't surprised to find out that they were coming to see Mama and Daddy. They were unsure about whether or not they should stay with my parents, but of course Daddy insisted. It really was no trouble and in fact, turned out to be a help. My cousin's wife cooked for Daddy and my cousin helped us a little bit with Mama (I'll get to that). It was really good to see them. I can't emphasize enough how much I genuinely like these cousins. They are the nicest people. Their kids are so sweet. They have a boy and a girl. The boy is 14, the girl is ... going into 11th grade (I'm not sure about her age).
We all sat in Mama and Daddy's living room to watch tv in the evenings. There aren't a whole lot of places for us to sit besides the couch and floor. Sometimes the kids sat on the floor, but several times, the girl sat in her dad's lap. Think about that. At 16 (?), she is close enough to her father to be completely comfortable sitting in his lap. Another time, I looked over to see the 14 year old boy sitting next to his father on the couch. My cousin had has arm around his son's shoulder and his son had reached up to hold his father's hand. That is what really amazed me. I was sitting on the couch with them so I couldn't get up to get my camera. I really wish that I'd been able to unobtrusively capture that sweet and natural moment. I'm just blown away by what a good father my cousin is.
We had several visitors on Saturday. When I got to my parents' house, the grandfather of Infectious Laughter's husband was there. I have never spent time with this man, though he has gone out of his way to be kind to Mama over the years. It was interesting to see how much Laughter's husband looks like him. It was also odd to contemplate the complexity of how we know this man - he's my father's youngest sister's youngest daughter's grandfather-in-law. (Is it really only my family that gets this convoluted?)
Actually, no, it's not. Earlier in the day, we'd stopped to see an elderly sister who lives in an assisted living facility. Her son was there so we had a nice chat with him and his mother. I thought her son was fascinating (turns out he's from Ohio - so, no surprise there). We got to talking about trips he and his wife have taken (she's wicked high on the Delta seniority ladder). They love Asia. Guess who was just in Asia and had lots to say - oh yeah, me. I rarely ever name-drop around here. But I just had this feeling... so I asked him if he knew a sister that had been on the trip to Asia with me (the really cool sister who has pioneered for 50 years). He got this big smile on his face and said that her first husband was his cousin. He then told me a story about running into her in an airport in some random Asian city. HA! I had heard that story from her while we were in Asia. Anyway, it's not just me and my family that have these weird connections.
Later in the day, my father's best friend from college came to visit. They only stayed a couple of hours, but it was really good to see them. I've known this family for as long as I've known just about anyone on this earth. When I was a young child, we didn't live close to Daddy's family. They came to see us occasionally and we would get up to see them as often as we could. But we absolutely, without exception, went on vacation at least once a year with my father's best friend's family. I wish we had kept in touch with them more often after we left Florida. As it is, I don't think I've met either of their kids' spouses or children. That's just sad because I really do think of these people as family. It was great to catch up with them. And just to hear their voices. It's amazing how much emotion I attach to that man's voice. I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher when they arrived. I heard my "uncle's" voice before I saw him. I literally got chills down my back. In an instant, I was transported back to my happiest memories from childhood - those vacations in the Keys.
Saturday night was difficult for us. It took three of us to get Mama into bed. She's just not strong enough to walk by the end of the day. My cousin was a big help.
I had things to do around my house on Sunday, so I didn't go over to see Mama. I ended up getting a bad headache and didn't get much done around my house either. Wasted day.
One of my cousins spent the morning with Daddy on Sunday. My other cousins went home. It was a slow day.
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With all those ties, I wasn't surprised to find out that they were coming to see Mama and Daddy. They were unsure about whether or not they should stay with my parents, but of course Daddy insisted. It really was no trouble and in fact, turned out to be a help. My cousin's wife cooked for Daddy and my cousin helped us a little bit with Mama (I'll get to that). It was really good to see them. I can't emphasize enough how much I genuinely like these cousins. They are the nicest people. Their kids are so sweet. They have a boy and a girl. The boy is 14, the girl is ... going into 11th grade (I'm not sure about her age).
We all sat in Mama and Daddy's living room to watch tv in the evenings. There aren't a whole lot of places for us to sit besides the couch and floor. Sometimes the kids sat on the floor, but several times, the girl sat in her dad's lap. Think about that. At 16 (?), she is close enough to her father to be completely comfortable sitting in his lap. Another time, I looked over to see the 14 year old boy sitting next to his father on the couch. My cousin had has arm around his son's shoulder and his son had reached up to hold his father's hand. That is what really amazed me. I was sitting on the couch with them so I couldn't get up to get my camera. I really wish that I'd been able to unobtrusively capture that sweet and natural moment. I'm just blown away by what a good father my cousin is.
We had several visitors on Saturday. When I got to my parents' house, the grandfather of Infectious Laughter's husband was there. I have never spent time with this man, though he has gone out of his way to be kind to Mama over the years. It was interesting to see how much Laughter's husband looks like him. It was also odd to contemplate the complexity of how we know this man - he's my father's youngest sister's youngest daughter's grandfather-in-law. (Is it really only my family that gets this convoluted?)
Actually, no, it's not. Earlier in the day, we'd stopped to see an elderly sister who lives in an assisted living facility. Her son was there so we had a nice chat with him and his mother. I thought her son was fascinating (turns out he's from Ohio - so, no surprise there). We got to talking about trips he and his wife have taken (she's wicked high on the Delta seniority ladder). They love Asia. Guess who was just in Asia and had lots to say - oh yeah, me. I rarely ever name-drop around here. But I just had this feeling... so I asked him if he knew a sister that had been on the trip to Asia with me (the really cool sister who has pioneered for 50 years). He got this big smile on his face and said that her first husband was his cousin. He then told me a story about running into her in an airport in some random Asian city. HA! I had heard that story from her while we were in Asia. Anyway, it's not just me and my family that have these weird connections.
Later in the day, my father's best friend from college came to visit. They only stayed a couple of hours, but it was really good to see them. I've known this family for as long as I've known just about anyone on this earth. When I was a young child, we didn't live close to Daddy's family. They came to see us occasionally and we would get up to see them as often as we could. But we absolutely, without exception, went on vacation at least once a year with my father's best friend's family. I wish we had kept in touch with them more often after we left Florida. As it is, I don't think I've met either of their kids' spouses or children. That's just sad because I really do think of these people as family. It was great to catch up with them. And just to hear their voices. It's amazing how much emotion I attach to that man's voice. I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher when they arrived. I heard my "uncle's" voice before I saw him. I literally got chills down my back. In an instant, I was transported back to my happiest memories from childhood - those vacations in the Keys.
Saturday night was difficult for us. It took three of us to get Mama into bed. She's just not strong enough to walk by the end of the day. My cousin was a big help.
I had things to do around my house on Sunday, so I didn't go over to see Mama. I ended up getting a bad headache and didn't get much done around my house either. Wasted day.
One of my cousins spent the morning with Daddy on Sunday. My other cousins went home. It was a slow day.
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2 Comments:
Nah, my family is almost as bad, there's just not as many of us. It all happens when parents are having kids and their kids are having kids at the same time.
You should have heard me explaining to Robert the first time about all the cousins and step-cousins (though we never call them that) in our family. And who belongs to who. And what order we all come in...
He never really gets it till he meets someone face to face.
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