Cousins

By now, you must realize that I think knowing your Cousins is important....I had such wonderful times with my own first-cousins growing up...they meant more to me than friends when I was very young , before I started school....the kindness and caring of The Family.... the relatives, the aunts and uncles, as well as parents and grandparents, gave all of us cousins, boys and girls, a great sense of acceptance and belonging.

This was before the days of daycare and strangers, not Family, watching you,  keeping you safe and secure....The Family raised you, making sure you knew right from wrong at an early age, giving you confidence in yourself, and a healthy sense of who you were and who you would become..... You knew you were well-loved, not just well-cared for.

People stayed in touch with their relatives, helping each other in times of friendship and need ...A lot of family members lived together under one roof or not very far away....The Family was close-knit....People really needed each other and depended on each other...to watch the kids, to help in the garden, whatever needed doing....And the Cousins were more than friends,  they were FAMILY.....would that all the young ones of today could be so blessed......