Day Thirty-Four: Family is Really Pretty Awesome

I was very fortunate growing up to be so close to my family. Before my parents even met each other, my mother and my aunt were best friends, which made for a great foundation when my mom married her brother, both women had children, and my cousins and I got together. My best memories growing up were driving down to Jersey and creating mass havoc with my two female cousins, one four years older than me, and one two years. We would destroy the peace with My Little Pony extravaganzas, put on elaborate and poorly rehersed magic shows, and create entire living environments for our dolls, complete with kitchen and clothesline. And then, of course, there were the times in the swimming pool, which was my mecca, because to have my very own swimming pool I didn't need to share with anyone was my childhood dream.

So because my mom and my aunt were so close, the three of us grew up very close. I didn't have any siblings, so to me, they were like my sisters (that I unfortunately only got to see two or three times a year). When, at Thanksgiving, my cousin Andrea suggested all the females of our generation, she being the oldest, and the youngest being seventee, get together for a weekend to bond and become closer to each other, I was all for the idea. I still love to visit them, and although our adventures are a lot more worldly than building forts and Lego castles, I still make some of my best memories with them. But unfortunately, no one was really into the idea except the three of us, and their brother's wife, who became an instant cousin to me I wish I had around growing up as well. Although my remaining four female cousins really liked the idea, most of them weren't very adamant about strongly planning the idea. And because when we all get together we all complain that we never see each other enough and never get together, my cousin got upset and somewhat offended, but I can understand why, from their sense. While I wish they'd been more responsive, they did try, and it maybe isn't as exciting to them because they didn't have the same awesome cousin-y memories growing up, as I did.

At the risk of sounding almost untolerably cheesy, people only get one family. You get one set of blood relatives, and nothing can replace them. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky that in a world where so many families don't get along, and so many people even hate spending time with their families, I have the greatest family in the world, and a fantastic relationship with them. Family has always been very important to me, whether it's just the relationship I have with my parents, or seeing my extended family and attempting to get to know my really extended family. It always makes me a little upset when I hear about people really disliking their own family, because that notion is so foreign to me. While I am not at all close with my mother's side of the family, it consists only of my grandparents -- no great aunts, no great uncles, and no aunts or uncles or cousins, because my mother was an only child. And I feel unfailingly guilty about not visiting them more, because they're the only set of grandparents I have left, even if we don't have the best relationship.

So next time you have the option to get to know your family a little better, or get closer to them, do it. You only get one!