Cousins Reunite

My cousin, Judy, looks great.
Me??....I look about 800 pounds in this picture - ugh!!

When David and I made the big decision to move to Minnesota, many people's first question was, "Do you have family there"?  My answer was a yes..... (notice the dot, dot, dot?? )  The " ........" always included an explanation.  By complete coincidence, my cousin Judy, lives a 40 minute drive away from where I currently live.  The glitch, however, is that it has been at least 30 years since we have seen each other!  How on earth does that happen???  Actually, quite easily.

My Aunt Maryann (my mom's sister) & Uncle Bob had relocated out of Buffalo when their kids were young.  Keep in mind that times were different then.  Families didn't simply just hop on a plane to visit each other on a regular basis.  My mom was raising a family of 6 and my Aunt Maryann was raising a family of 3 so they couldn't just hop in a car and drive 14 hours to visit on a regular basis.  Even phone calls were pricier then.....when was the last time anyone worried about long distance?  And email/Facebook was nonexistent.  We wrote letters!  Although we didn't see each other very much as kids I always LOVED the occasions that Aunt Maryann, Uncle Bob and cousins, Michael, Judy and Maryann came into town.  We always had a great time together.  However, once the cousins departed, the miles once again got in between us.

Life goes on, we each grow up, get married, have children, etc, etc.  Fast forward to present day and the existence of Facebook.  Long lost friends, former neighbors or co-workers, old classmates.....and in this situation, cousins, reconnect.  It has been nice to get to know my cousins again through status updates and friendly banter on Facebook.  It has been a blessing to come together again, albeit virtually, through Facebook.  When David and I made the decision to move to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, I reached out to Judy over a Facebook message with the, "Exactly *where* do you live??" question (her siblings have since relocated out of MN, to Colorado).  Prior to moving here, Judy had offered great guidance by answering numerous questions about the various areas that surround the Twin Cities (Keep in mind, I was super pregnant during much of the time David and I were planning our relocation and therefore was not able to travel here prior to our actual move) and we promised to get together once I arrived.

Finally things have settled down a tad since David and I stepped foot in Minnesota.  Today, Judy and I (& Jonathan - Madeline was at school) were able to get together for coffee.  A two hour chat *flew* by.  It was nice to catch up with each other - get to know each other as adults.  Heck, last time Judy saw me I was the bratty little kid that was the baby of my family.  (Ok, I *still* am....I guess things haven't changed that much.)  It was nice to catch up on each other's siblings. It was nice to talk about our moms and our grandparents.  It was nice to chat about our kids.  Most importantly, it was nice to lay down that foundation of friendship that, due to circumstances/distance, we missed in our youth.

Today, Judy and I grabbed a nice corner both at Starbucks.  Good thing - we needed that extra space because, without a doubt, our moms sat there with us this morning. This morning, cousins reunited.  This morning, our moms listened, watched and smiled.