Wednesday Medley

    Since today is National Cousins Day and Friday is National Aunts and Uncles Day, Terri from Your Friend in Florida has created a set of questions based on that, for us to answer.

1. What can you tell us about your cousins, please, or someone who is close like a cousin?

I had/have a lot of cousins. The oldest is twelve years older than me, and the youngest didn't come along until after I already had three children of my own. Given the age difference I don't even know most of my cousins, and certainly can't name them all. (And this is only first cousins ... forget about even thinking of branching out further than that.)

The cousin I was the closest to, was only a few months younger than I was. For a number of years we lived in the same community and attended the same school until her family moved to a different state. We still remained best of friends and wrote letters regularly between their twice a year visits.

2. Do you still see your cousins and will you contact them on National Cousins Day?

I hardly ever see any of my cousins, or have any contact with them. Our lives turned out so differently which keep the ones I was the closest to from being able to stay in contact. (The repercussions of leaving the Amish run deep.) Other than saying a few words to each other at my brother's funeral last fall, it has been years since we had seen or heard from each other.

I will not be contacting them on National Cousins Day.

3. Do you have a favorite aunt or uncle you can tell us about?

Uncle Eli and Aunt Mattie were very special to me. They never had children. Instead, they doted on their nieces and nephews. They were the happiest people, and simply being around them made me feel happy.

Aunt Vernie had Downs Syndrome. She was a favorite aunt. Her joy of life, her laughter, her compassion, and really everything about her made her a favorite!

I could write a lot about many of my aunts and uncles and what made them special to me. Each of them made an impact on my life and gave me memories I'll always treasure.

4. Did/does your family have reunions and can you tell us about them?

The community I grew up in didn't allow people to attend family reunions. However, one year we all traveled to Michigan to my Mom's oldest sister's house. All her siblings and their children were there as well as my grandparents. We simply called it a family gathering, which made it okay.

5. If you have children, are they enjoying relationships with their cousins, aunts, and uncles?

Sadly, our children don't get to see most of their cousins often enough to establish a relationship with them. They always enjoy getting to see them when they have the opportunity.

6. Tell us something random about your week so far.

We started our new year of school on Monday. It's nice getting back into books and learning. I had been expecting our schedule to feel a little bumpy at first until we get used to it, but it's been surprisingly smooth.