Today we are going to a birthday party for my cousin's two children. They are having a swimming/water slide party, and we were invited to join the festivities. I don't even have to fret about a gift because I keep a stack of books and art supplies on hand for last minute children's gifts. We picked out a paper doll sticker book for the 4-year old girl, and a board book for the 1-year old boy. I also have some art supplies ready for my mom to give as a gift to the 4-year old, and she found a small toy for the boy. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!
Along with my gift for the day is a prayer of health and happiness for the birthday boy and girl, and a prayer of gratitude that I am organized enough to keep gifts on hand in the closet for almost any age child. I also say an extra prayer of gratitude for my family, including these extended family members.
My extended family is large. Very large. My dad was number six of seven children, and my mom was number three of six children. My mom has two siblings that are close in age to her, and then there is a 13-year gap and three younger brothers. All from the same mother and father. I have twelve first cousins on my mom's side, and our ages range from 27 to 46. We are, and have always been, very close. We spent many days and nights together, took trips together, spent every holiday together growing up, were in each other's weddings, lived within 15 miles of each other, and called each other "friend" as well as "cousin".
My dad's siblings were much more spread out, again from the same mother and father, so I have many more cousins and a much larger age gap. I think the oldest is 62 years old, and the youngest must be around 35 years old. I am not as close to all of those cousins. In fact, I don't even know the names and ages of a few of them. Or where they even live now. But there were a few that I spent a lot of time with growing up, and am still close to today. The birthday party today is one of those families.
Actually, the grandmother is my first cousin, and the party is for her two grandchildren. She is not much younger than my parents, since my dad became an uncle at the age of 4, so it was like her three daughters were my first cousins since we were the same age. When we moved far from our family for my dad's job when I was seven, this is one of the families that came to visit us. Twice. I have pictures of me and my two siblings in sleeping bags on the floor with these three cousins. Their oldest daughter and I were very into scrapbooking for awhile and spent many Saturdays together doing albums. Their middle daughter is the same age as my sister, and they got into lots of trouble together as kids and young adults. The party today is for the children of the youngest daughter. I would say she is the one I know the least, but she is still someone I know I can call at anytime and she'll be there They are very close sisters, and they have always treated me like an extended sister as well. I love them, all of them. And I can't imagine my life without them.
So today I celebrate the birthdays of two sweet little babes whose Mommy has been a lifelong friend. And I am grateful to call them all "family".
No comments:
Post a Comment