A cousin is a ready-made friend for life. -- Anonymous
I've mentioned in my posts that I'm an only child. So, naturally, my cousins seem like brothers and sisters to me. As the cliche goes, you can't choose your relatives. But I've been very fortunate, in that I get along beautifully with many of my cousins.
On my mother's side, I have three first cousins I'm really close to. My dear first cousin Dot, who lives in Rhode Island, has always been open-hearted and a great listener, no matter what adventures I was going through at different times in my life. Another first cousin, Joanna, lives in Florida -- over the past several decades, we've had long, animated, laughter-filled phone conversations, and shared many adventures, particularly during the time she lived in an apartment in Manhattan. My other first cousin Carol lives in a Boston suburb; I used to see her quite a bit when I lived in New England. Carol and I are close in age and have lots of interests in common; on the rare occasions when we get together nowadays, the time never seems long enough.
On my father's side, my first cousin Darlyne was a favorite of mine. Darlyne was in an iron lung for a couple of years after she contracted polio in the 1950s; I think that experience made her immensely empathetic and sensitive to others. We visited her in Arizona in 2003, a year or so before she died. Darlyne and I didn't see each other very often, but when we did get together, our conversation picked up right where it had left off.
How immensely comfortable, and comforting, it was to talk with Darlyne. We knew each other so well that I knew I would never have to explain my somewhat peculiar logic, or apologize for some humorous eccentricity, or justify my reaction to a story she told. We accepted each other completely. Darlyne and I never ran out of things to talk about, yet we could also sit together in "companionable silence" and be completely content.
Darlyne's son, my cousin Steve, called unexpectedly from Arizona yesterday. His sister Diane was visiting him from their home state, Iowa, and they just wanted to say hi and catch up on the news. Our conversation lifted my spirits. I realized what a special connection I have with my cousins. We're not only relatives; we're friends, too.
Cousin to cousin we'll always be, Special friends from the same family tree. -- Anonymous
Linda Jay Geldens, www.LindaJayGeldens.com
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