My Relatives

They come from the same bloodline whether or not we like or appreciate them. Chances are that they are a lot like us whether or not we choose to admit it. Aunts, uncles, and cousins, better known as relatives. I had one aunt that was rather embarrassing, but she is not one of the 6 relatives. Let me tell you about my favorite AUNT and what she taught me. By the way, she is my favorite aunt because she lived the closest and therefore, I knew her better than all the other 5 aunts. She was my dad's sister, and she taught me that there were people that would not change, and our best reaction or response to them is 'to forgive them'. Her lesson about 'rising above our haters' has served me well throughout my life. I had a COUSIN who passed on a few years ago. He was like a brother to us and must have been my father's favorite nephew because although he lived far away, he never ceased to visit and was always there to comfort us when there was a loss in the family. There was ANOTHER COUSIN who would always tell 'family stories' that I'd never heard before. I always advised him to document the family stories, but he never did. His lack of heeding my advise is one of the major reasons I write today. I was inspired by him to not leave my family 'in the dark' but to bequest them stories to light up their lives about their family and where they came from. All my uncles died when I was very young and before I ever met them. The only UNCLE I knew was my wife's uncle, and he was a very gentle man and very loving toward his family. For several years when our kids were small, we spent Thanksgiving Day with him and his family and a host of his friends from the community. His wife was the greatest cook. Lastly, there were TWO OTHER COUSINS. We three boys were one to two years apart, and when I was 13, our lives went in separate directions. We did not meet again until 40 year later at a family funeral. One of the cousins did not express any excitement of seeing me as I so openly did to him. He left me with an unpleasant impression of him. On the other hand, even though I was wearing glasses and had a full beard, my other cousin immediately recognized and overwhelmed me with respect and friendliness. Yes, relatives bear similarities, but we are not all the same. 102720PSCtest, Six Relatives, Carin Krutsinger