My Mom-In-Law has a spectacular tradition. Each year, her cousins get together for a Cousins' Party! Brilliant!
I wish I had thought of it... but since I didn't, I unabashedly stole her tradition and made it my own as part of my 40th-Year-Progressive-Birthday-Celebration.
Blessed am I to have 3 cousins on my mother's side of the family. When you throw my 2 sisters into the mix, that makes a half-dozen cousins (all girls)!
Do you know what a Progressive Dinner is? Well that has kind of been the general idea for the big 4-zero birthday. I decided before the year even started that I didn't JUST want to have a big shin-dig (although I kind of did that too... How often do you meet someone who matters, who is also only ONE day older than you? I mean we sort of HAD to have a shin-dig... right??!) Sorry for the digression.
Anyone who has thrown a big wedding/party/event knows that you don't ever get to really visit with all your guests very much. So I thought it would be fun to have a series of smaller, more intimate celebrations. So that's what I have done. Yes... I realize I have sort of beat my birthday into the ground this year... but 40 is a big deal people!
(I'm pretty sure husband is OVER it).
So when my first-1st cousin asked if she could throw me a party... she got rooked into two parties (sorry hon). One of which we celebrated last weekend... a Cousins Sleepover!
So the sisters came up from Houston and we did all the things you're supposed to do at a slumber party!
Played Girl Talk!
Ate Pizza (just like back in the day)!
Watched a chick-flick until the wee morning hours with a bowl of caramel popcorn on our laps! Made creepy monster cocktails!
Modeled our cute mis-matched socks...
We had conversations with furniture and talked about boys we like!
We laughed! And laughed some more!
We woke up to a Cousins elegant tea party complete with quiche... fresh fruit... tomatoes and basil... hot tea and coffee. DIVINE!
The best part about spending time with people who share your blood is that you just "know" things about each other... you don't have to do a lot of explaining. You totally "get" each other's stories, especially about your crazy shared relatives - (if you happen to be a crazy relative... were your ears burning?) You don't have to apologize for being loud... and dramatic... and over the top. You can start a story mid-stream because your hearers know the beginning. You know each other's roots... the healthy ones, as well as the ones that need more water and fertilizer... and you tend to one another.
There's something comfortable and cozy about filling up a room with all those common traits... and then swimming in the words and nuances and quirks.
So thank you to Bo and Lo (and Aunt Beck) for your hospitality and for putting into motion what I hope will be an annual event. We're already discussing next year's party in Houston and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my other sweet pumpkinhead cousin Bree can make it in 2013. Thank you sisters for making the trek North!
Although we are cut from the same cloth... we are varied and diverse. We are corduroy and satin... damask and denim.. silk and lace and flannel. I'm so thankful for the stitching of faith and family that holds us together...
Cousins are an often unmentioned, unappreciated, forgotten branch of the family tree... but I am here to say... COUSINS ROCK!
