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Celebrating Family with a Cousins Party
Each year my dad’s cousin celebrates family with her Cousins Party. She invites everyone who is remotely related to her. There are certain people I can remember encountering there every single year, and I know they’re related to me somehow, but I still haven’t the foggiest idea how. Sometimes the party is in the summer and sometimes it’s around Christmas.
Last Christmas, Barbara had the biggest crowd ever and the sink broke halfway through the evening. It was a disaster and dishes were piled high on the counter. Then the men stepped in. It was hilarious to see my Dad’s cousin Ronald, uncle Eddie and my cousin John all standing around the sink with flashlights and wrenches, arguing over exactly what needed to be done, as Barbara kept tugging at her hair and pacing in and out of the room.
Barbara is incredibly generous in everything she does. She cooks all of the food for what is usually a crowd of fifty, plus purchases enough alcohol for an army (and when the family is 3/4 Irish, that’s useful!). On top of that, she buys something for every single guest. Sometimes the gifts are each completely unique and different. On other occasions they’re themed. This year’s party, which we just attended, was a themed event. Barbara’s best friend bought a company that sells hats online. Barbara bought each and every one of us a different hat. Her husband Bill, her personal hero, got an Indiana Jones fedora hat. Her son, who owns a landscaping business, got one of those Tilley hats. Both are gorgeous and perfect for the recipient. Mine, on the other hand, was one of these. Alas. I abhor pink and am anything but a country girl.
My lack of enthusiasm and gratitude left me feeling rather guilty. By the end of the night, I discovered I’d volunteered to help complete an online family tree. Well, at least now I’ll finally figure out how I’m related to all of those people at the party. I’ve started some of the research, and am surprised at how much fun it is. There’s something very satisfying in digging up historical details about one’s predecessors that everyone living has forgotten. By the next Cousins Party, I hope to have found something really interesting in our past to astonish everyone!
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