Cousins are special people around this house. In several instances cousins have trumped neighbor friends. Mostly that is because of the big boy who lives at our house. His cousins have been everything to him in his seven years on this earth. We have been known to encourage eating of vegetables on the basis that so and so cousin eats that particular vegetable all the time and LOVES IT! When you say the word cousins around here there is a pause, then silence, and then an uproar of when are we going or when are they coming. It really is magical.
As I remember it I was always the "older" cousin. Now with some perspective I see that I wasn't that much older, but I was extremely bossy. With bossiness comes a sense of being much older and wiser than your actual years. During one particular summer reunion at our Grandma and Grandpa Rassmussen's I was given the very important assignment to be Madame Jopo Harriseenie. I wrapped a towel on my head and put a afghan around my shoulders and with a upside down glass bowl I sat on a lawn chair inside a tent and I told the fortunes of all the "little" cousins. I felt very important. I know there is a picture somewhere of my moment of glory, but I can't find it right this moment.
The Petersen family is putting together a last minute end of summer reunion. As we try to come up with fun stuff to do for cousins young and old I am reminded of my moment as a fortune teller. It was a essential part of my character development. I see now that those moments are when you begin to know you belong to a family who recognizes your strengths and weaknesses. That is when you feel like you can be yourself and still be loved. I am positive my aunts and grandma were painfully aware of my bossiness and tendency to want to always be where the adults were. They did a good job of making me feel like I was special and needed in our family even though I mostly drove them nuts.
I know why cousins are so important at our house. My little ones are still not too sure about all this cousin business, but I am going to encourage them to be a part of the cousins so they will know that love and acceptance that will carry them throughout their life.
Oooo, I want to see that picture. Though I can pretty well picture it in my head, LOL! I love this! I only have 3 first cousins and only 1 of them did I know very well at all... she's 4 years older than I am and was very sweet to let me tag along when it must have been very frustrating to have a much younger cousin there.
ReplyDeleteI miss you girlie!