I want to play poker and drink beer with my brother and cousins. I want to go to the Christmas party that my uncle puts on for his employees, nearly all family members or close friends. I miss home.

Instead I’ll hang out with some friends from church tonight and watch the Lakers-Celtics game with my wife afterwards, but I’ll still wish I were home.

So, a year after my husband died, I found a job in my home town (a place where good jobs are scarce, the economy is not-so-great, and I hate the weather), quit the wonderful job I’d had for 8 years, and moved back to the town I thought I’d never live in again. And now we have lunch with my Grandmother and all of my cousins and their kids every Sunday, my son sees his Grandfather every day, I’ve reconnected with childhood friends, and my son now knows family the same way I did.

I still hate the weather here, but it was worth it.

My oldest son has the closeness with his two cousins who live an hour away, but now the 3 of them are getting older (13, 14, 16) & have so much going on in their own lives, that part makes me yearn to rewind the clock & spend even more time if I could let them. My youngest 2 love the time they get to spend with the older ones, but again – it’s less & less time, now.

The cousins relationship is a special thing & I wish it didn’t have to be so sparing with your family! It kind of was with ours (as kids), but we certainly made the most of it! Thoughful & emotional post! Thanks for sharing because without it I wouldn’t be reminiscing right now!

But we had the running around with the many neighbor kids. I want that for my kids. We have that with one family, but they’re about to go on vacation for 2 weeks and then, after being back home for one week, MOVE to frickin’ FLORIDA! GAH.

So I think it’s a good thing that we do have those play groups and play dates and friends from school, even if they’re not related and don’t live in the same neighborhood.

Growing up I had dozens of cousins around, and we would roam the neighborhood in the summer like hobo kids…dragging wagons and sticks and pets around with us wherever we went. The rule was to be home when the street lights came on, and if we weren’t to stop by the nearest family members house (we were related to someone in every 3rd house) and call.

I try not to let my modern-day fears creep in to much when my almost-7 year old daughter wants to roam the street (in the middle of farms!) to go from backyard to backyard of friends. I loved that ‘freedom’ as a kid, and even though her cousins are 30 minutes away, we don’t see them nearly enough. So I have to loosen the apronstrings and let her roam with friends.

I, too, grew up with my cousins…some right around the corner, another the same age as me and in the same grade in school, so we were always together. Other cousins that would visit 2 times a year and it was always exciting.

My kids don’t have that either….they have some cousins at school, but they hardly even speak to each other. They know they’re cousins, and would probably have each other’s backs, if need be, but no getting together and running and playing. Well, it doesn’t help that my youngest is almost 14 either, but still!

that’s what made being a kid so much fun…running with your cousins all day long, and putting on shows(we did that too!) and singing and playing house and all that good stuff.

It is sad that todays’ kids don’t have that…now I’m gonna be sad all day long!

great post!

I live 2,000 miles from my extended family .

sigh.

My kids’ have fewer cousins and they are 3+ hours away. It is sad. For all the freedom we have to live and work where we want, we have lost something too.

I understand your sadness, for I feel the same when we actually DO see family.

I hope you squeeze every bit of love out of your visit