Cousins' day

Today was my family's annual cousins get together. It was an outrageously windy day and much of our time was spent trying to keep table cloths and small babies from flying away.  As my children are teenagers I was fortunate enough to be able to relax (no chance of them being carried off ) and enjoy the company of my extended family. I met new partners, went gooey over new babies, and fell in love with my cousin's 2 year old son as I watched him play with my children. I laughed with my great Aunty who proudly declared "I'm 88 and not dead yet!". It was extra special to see her this year, as my precious Oma, her sister, recently died and I loved being with someone so like her - listening to her accent, seeing her smile, and loving her similar attitude towards life, and death.

Our Cousins' Day began after my great grandmother died as a way to keep the family in touch, knowing that without her as a connection it would be easy to lose contact, with our families living further apart and inevitably getting caught up in our own lives. Now 20 years later, I have many wonderful memories and have built connections and friendships with family that I may otherwise never have seen or got to know. My 10 year old second or third (not sure exactly) cousin is now the mother of that gorgeous 2 year old. My kids know that they are part of something bigger than their immediate family, and I hope as they observe all of us together, they learn something about what makes our family unique. I also hope, actually this is more important, that they see that our family is pretty much the same as any other. We all have our good times and bad. We grow up, we find love, sometimes it doesn't last, but it can and when it does we celebrate it, and the family grows. We get old, we admire and support our elders and we grieve together when they leave us.

Taking time to contemplate the sense of belonging that family creates is definitely worth a few cups of tea. I look forward to sharing some tea with my cousins on a less windy Cousins' Day next year as we celebrate its 21st birthday.