Several months ago, my brother sent me a link to a website where one of my far flung relatives had taken the time to amass information about my father’s side of the family. It was just the slightest bit creepy because although the stuff about me was dated, it was mostly accurate. I suspect that one of my uncles was responsible. In any case, as I read about some of my cousins, I wondered what they were doing with their lives. It had been well over a decade since I had heard of or seen any of them.
How is it exactly that we lose touch with those people that matter the most to us? Just about every great memory that I have of my childhood involves one or more of my cousins on both sides of the family. They uniquely understood the quirks my parents embodied because they were sired by one from the same litter. They were the keepers of the inside jokes and the closet skeletons. Summers, most holidays and several weekends were spent with my cousins. They were my best friends and the people with whom I laughed until soda ran out my nose.
But then we grew up, moved out of our parents’ homes and onto our separate lives. As adults, our social circles expanded, our interests matured and the camaraderie of our youth was quietly relegated to the faded pictures in dusty, family albums.
Last week, while cleaning out a drawer, I ran across a printout of the information from that website and again, my thoughts turned to my cousins. Modern technology and social networking sites make it much easier to find people these days. I spent several hours in my search and gave up. In my mind's eye, the pictures I had of my cousins were decades old. I had no idea what they looked like as middle aged people. Finally, as a shot in the dark, I did a search on the white pages and happened upon three promising numbers. I called the first one and got a machine. The voice was instantly recognizable. I could barely contain my excitement as I left her a message.
Rosie called back and we eventually got an opportunity to talk. Through her, I was able to connect with three other cousins and I cannot wait to find out what they've been doing the last twenty years or so.
2 comments:
Hey there...Rosie here! Yes, it WAS sooo awesome to hear your voice! I almost fell off my chair when I heard you on my voice mail! So glad you persevered made the effort to find us. I did try once on Facebook but your name had changed. Those WERE some of the best memories ....summers in New Brunswick ... hanging by the ocean ... getting burnt to a crisp...chasing Uncle Clarence's glass eye under the couch! I love reading your blog btw...you have a very unique and funny writing style ..you can tell you write from the heart. I owe you a phone call! We will talk soon. Take care. Love, Rosie.
How great to connect! Best of luck contacting others!
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