Family

Whether or not this fact deems me 'lucky', I am not sure... But I have a fairly small and tight-knit family.

It's my immediate family (mom, dad and two brothers), and my extended family, which is limited to my mom's parents (who live next door to my immediate family in NC now), and my mom's only sister with her two kids. Mike (my aunt's fiance) has recently been added to the mix, but this is the group that serves as the foundation of my family.

The rest of my relatives remain a pretty distant part of my life. Most of them, I have only met/seen a few times. Not making a good/bad judgement, I love them all... but, they are generally not included in the group I refer to when I use the term, "family"... as I reserve it for the core group that plays an active role.

So, you may have used your marvelous deductive skills to determine that I only have two cousins, and you would be correct. None of my dad's siblings have had any children. That means that the pool of grand kids has remained fairly small, which usually works out to our benefit. I, being the oldest, enjoy this fact immensely.

In the holiday season, I am reminded of the importance of family and the unusual nature of my own. Josh, my aunt's oldest, recently finished Marine boot camp and may not make it to NC for Christmas. Josh spent the past few years living with my grandparents, next door. So he was a regular dinner guest and I had to chase him off the xbox so I could watch TV quite a few times. He is a newly tattooed military guy now, still not sure how I feel about that. Sarah, my aunt's other child, is currently in the hospital. Her diagnosis is still undetermined, but she has been slow to respond to antibiotics and it doesn't look like she will be able to go home today. Sarah and I , being the oldest and the youngest as well as the only two females, experience a special bond, which includes a common attraction to musicians. :) We have been to more than a few concerts together, and my Chuck Taylor's passed to her when I retired them.

I only have two cousins, so they are rather important to me. We have been really close our entire lives. I see how my parents interact with their cousins (which is hardly ever) and I can't imagine being so distant from my own some day. Maybe the fact that there are so few will change the context, maybe we will be different. I hope so.

Either way, I am going to say a prayer for both of my cousins. Josh and Sarah, I hope that you have a wonderful holiday and I hope to see you soon.