Cousins

When I was a kid I remember family gatherings as one of the most wonderful occasions. I know that sometimes there was tension and drama that I for the most part didn't pick up on, but I loved being surrounded by my big family. Cousins were by far the best part of these gatherings.

I always felt (and still feel) a special bond with my cousins, (and my cousin Brian in particular, we were very close in age and I think temperament which for the most part was great, and sometimes towards the end of a visit was not so great...) Even my best friends who I love dearly don't quite pull at my heart strings the way my cousins do. I don't know if it is just because we are from the same blood, or can bond over our crazy family, or because we have known eachother before, (if you believe or think about that sort of thing) maybe we were tied together in lives before this one.

Whatever it is cousins are special.

 I am thinking about this because my in-laws just visited.   Rowan and Zo's cousin Sean was at our house for two days. The joy these cousins have to be with each other is so awesome.  Even Zo wants to be with big cousin.  Watching them play really brought me back. As they played "family" I remembered the games of make-believe that Brian and I used to orchestrate and our younger siblings would play along, like Zo, just happy to be there.

The kids playing family, a.k.a. house.

As we have all grown we see each other less and less, but when we do see one another it is always special and reminds me how important family is.  I am so glad to see my kids with their cousin and be witness to another generation of cousins that will grow up together and hopefully feel as strong of a bond with each other as I do with my cousins.

Do any of you feel similarly about cousins?   Do you feel that your connection with your cousins is different than what you have with your friends?