About 6 hours after our brief stint in Hollywood, we stopped in Arizona to spend the night at my aunt and uncle’s home. I rarely get to see these members of my family, which for me is an oddity. My parents both have a lot of siblings and all of them still live in Illinois—except for this particular branch of the family tree.
I know that my two cousins were happy to see me, and I was grateful to see them again too. It’s been a few years since we last met. They’re both much younger than me, but it was easy to see how much they’ve grown up. I had never been to Arizona to see them before; they have always come to Chicago to spend time with us. It was nice to see where they lived and to finally meet the dogs I heard so much about.
Their seclusion from the rest of our family never really struck me before. I always just assumed that they preferred to live as far as they did from us. I could understand that. Being constantly surrounded by your large family can be extraordinarily overwhelming.
It never occurred to me before that they might miss us. I am so suffocated by the “us” at times, that I don’t think I appreciate what I have often enough. Having family near you makes things a lot easier. You have someone to rely on, someone to help you our when you need it, and you always have someone to talk to. The benefits of having a large family are numerous, but I don’t take the time to think about them as frequently as I should. I love my family, and I’m glad they’re so close. I hope to keep in contact with my Arizona family too.
No comments:
Post a Comment