Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are the times I got to spend with my cousins. My cousins lived several hours away, so we only saw them two or three times a year. But, that made those occasions extra exciting and fun.
We’d get together and play games, go on hikes, talk about comic books, and just have a good time together. Our Grandma would feed us cookies and milk (and her world-famous chocolate cake.) (It was world-famous in our world!) She knew all of our favorite foods, and would be sure to make as many of them as she could while we were all together. Those are some of my best memories!
Cousins are great! In some ways, cousins are better than siblings. They are family, but because you don’t see them every day, you are less likely to fight and pick at each other like you do with your siblings. Since it’s not an every day thing, it’s more likely that you’ll actually enjoy spending time with them. You don’t HAVE to share a room with them, but you might GET to share a room with them.
In some ways, cousins are better than friends. Sometimes friends can drift apart, but that’s harder to do as cousins (at least when you are young.) If friends argue, they might get offended and decide to not be friends anymore. Cousins can’t decide not to be cousins anymore, so if one gets offended, they’ll usually at some point be forced back together again, and old arguments turn to new reconciliations.
We recently spent a few days on fall break with my wife’s extended family. We do this every so often, and we always have an enjoyable time. My kids like to spend time with Grammy, PopPop, and uncles and aunts. But, the thing they enjoy the most about these get-togethers is: cousin time!
It’s always fun to watch my kids hang out with their cousins. Most of the time they’ll do stuff with the cousins closest to their own age, but every once in a while they’ll pair off in unusual ways. For instance, my 17 year-old might decide to do something with her eight year-old cousin, instead of with the 16 year-old cousin she usually hangs out with. It’s fun to watch them make those connections.
And sometimes they’ll just be one giant cousin horde, working together to have a good time (and destroy everything in their path!) (And I mean that in a good way.) (Mostly.)
I feel bad that as an adult I have drifted away from the cousins of my childhood. I really do miss them. (And Grandma’s world-famous chocolate cake.)
