Cousins

Last week when I was in Denver, I was able to visit my cousin Michael and meet his girlfriend, Lucia. As an added bonus, my cousin David's wife, Alyssa, happened to also be in town visiting one of her cousins, so she joined us for dinner too! We had a delightful time having dinner together at Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings. 

I hadn't seen them in years, but I had that experience that everyone always talks about where it feels like no time has passed at all. It was fun, and I was grateful for the chance to see them. 

After I spent a second evening with Michael, my heart was so full that I got to thinking about how special cousins are and about how this is the feeling I get after I see any of my cousins.

I grew up with cousins from out of town who would come visit for the holidays and in the summer, cousins who I would play with at family events and holiday parties, cousins who I went to school with, and cousins who I hung out with at my Grandma's house on Sunday afternoons.

My cousins were some of my first friends. We have a whole history of shared stories, jokes, and experiences, of made-up games, pretend play, and family foods. I could easily tell one hundred cousin stories!

Cousins are like pseudo-siblings, and if you have a cousin or two who are the same age, it's the closest thing to being a twin or a triplet. You get randomly grouped with these people from birth, but it's a true delight to find that you not only love these people, but that you like them and have fun spending time with them. My husband also has a lot of cousins, and, after knowing them for more than two decades, I feel like they are my cousins too!

I've often felt a little sad about the fact that the older I get, there are fewer opportunities to hang out with my cousins. It's something that I'm sure I took for granted for most of my life, but something that I hope I will never cease to delight in.