MAE JULIAN
Cousins
Before the half of the last century, families were inclined to have large families. But, around the half-century mark…1950…it seems that having large families was too expensive, too much work, and well, just not the thing to do.
I remember when my mother was pregnant for my brother, Bob, she said she felt like she had more kids than anybody. After that, she says, it didn’t bother her when she had two more. So, we were a family of seven kids.
What a gift. The best gift our parents ever gave us was each other. Luckily, the way the seven of us compensated for not having large families ourselves was to keep the cousins close. They are as bonded as siblings, if not more so, because they don’t get in each other’s hair. They don’t fight, compete, or have the jealous feelings that siblings do. Everytime we get together, it gives us pleasure to see the bonding and love they all feel for each other. It is needless to say that any one of them would do anything for the other.
Our family is growing fast. Our kids have kids, and their kids have kids, and now we are getting a new member of the family, which will make me a great-great aunt! Sometimes I feel like we are all on a big conveyer belt. Born to stand on the beginning of the belt as it moves from birth to death, where we drop off at the end.
My mother is now 89 years old. Our youngest is 5 months gestation. It is almost a 90-year span. The incredible thing about our family is the only one we have lost is Dad. Sometimes when I think about him, I like to think that he is up there taking care of all of us with interventions. I know this may sound odd, but I tell my kids not to fret if they miss a turn or get delayed by traffic. That very thing may have been the thing that saved their lives. Instead of getting annoyed, I say, “Thanks, Dad.” I’m not one to be superstitious but it’s the way I look at our lives.
I remember reading once that we, as humans, only see the back side of a tapestry. Threads knotted, and strung from one place to the other. It is a mess. We can’t see the work of beauty which is on the other side. Only God sees that side, and we, in turn, will also.
I’m sending you this picture of these happy cousins. I guess if we put them all together they would all be as happy as these three, just to have each other. My sister’s daughter, Taryn, is on the far left, my brother’s son, John, is in the middle, and my daughter, Betsy, is on the far right. They are beautiful and they are our future. They, and all their cousins, are the greatest gift we could ever give them. Having a close and loving family is the best gift of all.
Wishing all of you happy families,
Mae
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