Relationships take work most of the time. Hard work. But sometimes, there are those that function like clockwork. Relationships where you haven’t seen or spoken to someone in months, but the second you are together, it’s like no time has passed at all.
My relationship with my cousins is basically like that. As with any relationship, there are disagreements and squabbles, but ultimately, they are my clique. Ain’t nobody messing with any of them. That’s how we all (I presume) feel towards the one another. There are a few of us and we’re fairly close in age. In fact, I can truthfully say we all fall into the “Millennial" demographic, in marketing and advertising speak. Just barely though, lol. We’ve grown up together, from playing childhood games like Bop It, to drinking games (with Flip Cup & Circle of Death being our faves)! We’ll battle anyone in Flip Cup too…we do this!
But as close as we are, or were, it’s interesting to see the group dynamic change as we grow into the adults we’re meant to become. Searching for what will inherently make us happy and the journey we take to get there. We may not talk as often as we once did or see one another as often as we’d like, but put us in a room together & it’s like we never missed a beat. Old jokes and memories are shared in laughter as we make new ones.
As some of us have moved to different parts of the country, it becomes harder to find these moments to get together. And while we can’t always have our entire group, we jump at any chance to catch up, reminisce, and enjoy each other’s company. We may no longer be getting an entire “Cousins Weekend” to bond, but “Cousin Dinners” have proven to be just as enjoyable. So raise your glass and toast to your cousin friends and cheers to a bond that can’t ever be taken away…to my cousin friends: Carla, JJ, Shannon, K.D., Jennifer, & Tierra, love you creeps!