Family

When I was little I always wished I was part of a big family. I am not close to my sister at all and I always wished I had other siblings around that were closer in age or even personality to me. My dad was an only child, but his mother (my grandmother) had a large family and even had siblings close to the same age as my dad, so his side of the family is extensive and most of them are still in the New York area.

The great thing about my family's house in the Poconos is that when you go there you never know who else is going to be there. When I got up there on Friday afternoon there were 9 people in the house for the weekend. Big family dinners around the kitchen table and late night card games are the norm there. It was a great 2 days talking with family I hadn't seen in ages and getting to play with my 2 year old second cousin (once removed....I think. I can't remember how all that works. We just call everyone "cousin")I had never met. At first I was uncomfortable being the unmarried person there, but once the annoying questions about my personal life got out of the way, it was fine. I don't have the sense of "family" and connection that they all have with eachother, but I still had a good time talking, playing cards and being out of the city. The house is surrounded by woods and it's not uncommon to see deer or the occasional bear in the yard, which is obviously quite a change from my normal scenery. Here's one that wandered into the yard on Saturday.

I hope I can keep in better touch with the family I saw this weekend. My cousins with the 2 year old live 10 minutes away from me in NYC. In one of our conversations I discovered that another one of my cousin works 3 blocks away from me and often frequents the same bars I do. Here is my adorable little second cousin running in the yard:


I truly hope I can keep in contact with them and maybe feel more connected to my dad's side of the family. Maybe my time in New York isn't coming to an end after all.