Wednesday Medley~ Family Matters

Hosted by Terri.

Everything below this line is from the National Day Calendar website.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL COUSINS DAY – July 24

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL AUNT AND UNCLE’S DAY – July 26

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything above this line is from the National Day Calendar website,

1. What can you tell us about your cousins, please, or someone who is close like a cousin? Being an only child, my cousins  were  very important to me... I always looked so forward to  visiting with them...Many times we   were  visiting    with dad's family.. here I am with my next oldest cousin, Gary...  Such a special Cuz... He was my baby doll  in the beginning! This was my third Christmas at Granny's!

 Gary always came to my birthday parties.  Here I was 5...(  A friend colorized this ...  not  that realistic,) but it is pretty clear.

On mother's side  we were quite a rag tag looking  bunch...

I am holding my Cousin, Cindy..  now from top row  from left to right: . Diane, John, Tom, Me and Cindy, Linda, and Pam.

Seated is Pam's little sister, Patti!
That cute little blond,  Pam,  lived with us  for  about a year    when she was about this age..  while her mother  had  cancer...  Thankfully  Aunt Betty  is hale and hearty today at 91.  However,  this made Pam very special to me..  We've always been  closer  than I am to most of my other cousins on this side of the family.

Anytime  Pam come to visit  she always loved to play  with our  young neighbor across the street, Joyce,  who was my maid of honor in my wedding..

Pam and Linda  cut the cake at the wedding. I see Pam is letting Linda take the lead...  daughter of a home economics teacher,  she studied  Home EC also in College.

Pam   married Joel   and here she is with her first son , Nick.  They lived pretty far away  so  we only have been able to get together  when the  whole family got together in the summers. 

She sent  photo cards every year..  which was a great way to keep up with her growing family!

When my mother  passed in 2014, Pam  was right by my side  and she released the dove  at the graveside!

Now we get to visit her  at her NC mountain home...  or at our  annual family reunion  which this year was held last Saturday

Here  she posed with another  Cuz, Turtle,  who is so much younger than me, he is almost like  a nephew

Here  is a group of us cousins    posing with my beautiful grandmother!  This was a Mother's Day  probably 30 years ago.  I have Amanda with me  and a cute  cousin of Amanda's generation, Michael,who is beside his mother Diane,  in the colorful sweater..Beside her are  Jenny and  Charlotte  the two  youngest   girl cousins..  They carried baskets  of  rice  favors to pass out at my reception..   so cute. those little girls..

Jenny is also  very special to me even though we have a great  age  difference.. She lived next door to Grandma and when we went to  Grandma's for Christmas  we  saw Jenny every time. so  we have wonderful Christmas memories.  I was  a college co-ed here on Christmas morning    and  had had to put up my stocking to, so I put my  red patent leather boot up    while Jenny  had her stocking.  We  had slept together   that night before  while visions of sugar plums danced in our heads! 

2. Do you still see your cousins and will you contact them on National Cousins Day?

I just saw  a lot of them at the  family reunion on Saturday.

 Nick, Pam's son,  and  Bill,  Pam's brother

 Aunt Betty, age 91, Pam's mom, and her brother, Tom.

All of our reunions are  held here at Glenwood!

Pam and I visit.  She was here last  spring  and we enjoyed a  day trip  traveling all over  some of Virginia's  historic  venues.  I hope to visit  her  this fall!
On Dad's side,   I visit quite a bit with Gary and his family,  but schedules make  visiting  hard. We are trying to work out something for  August!

3. Terri had a favorite aunt and uncle she will tell us about. How about you? 

Here are mother's 5 sisters.  L-r: Janice, Tommye, Virginia, Nancy, Betty. I love all of them  in different ways.. Janice was closest to mom in age,   and when I went to the country to visit grandma for a week or two by myself I loved to  see Janice who lived nearby  because she reminded so much of momma...  She also taught me and Amanda how to knit!!!
Aunt Tommye lives near me..  I see her often and  we love to share news about the family.
Aunt Virginia ,Jenny's mom, was  a neighbor to Grandma and my Mother  when she lived in Galax. We spent  all of our Christmases together.. Aunt Nancy is only 6 years older than me.   but lives in Southern Florida so we  hardly ever see each other..  but  long ago growing up  she was so much fun.. She did  a mean  imitation of Elvis...  man,  can she sing, and    she was  the FUN aunt! 

Aunt Betty,  is a sweetheart... Pam's mother, and  also  mother to  4 other  cousins.. I loved it when we got together with all the kids and fun!!

One Christmas  Betty's family came to our house  and we got to build a snowman in the snow...  Here she is working hard with Tom .  I have a great group photo but  lost it today!   SO  I have to say I love all my aunts the same

..
Let's not forget the uncles.. here they  joined up  out of hearing from the cackling surely going in the house..  Aha!  Hubs is there on the  left..  then see Uncle Lawrence,   two men who I think are  mother's cousins,  my cousin, Sam,   Uncle Bill, and   Uncle Ira.

4. Did/does your family have reunions and can you tell us about them? 

Our  family on Mom's side got together  at least once  during the summer and  always  at Christmas  as long as Grandma and Grandpa were with us.. so that was up until 1988. After that most of us got together  each year at the  Cox Reunion at the church.
Dad's family lived sort of on the way home from  Grandma Cox's farm, so  we always stopped  Sunday afternoon to see them..  Everyone gathered at Granny's  for supper...so yes,  mother's family  got the preference when it came to visiting..    

5. If you have children, are they enjoying relationships with their cousins, aunts, uncles? 

Amanda doesn't have any aunts, uncles or first cousins  so when the whole family used to get together  she loved to play with  her second cousins.. 

 whether on their road trips,

or licking the bowl together!

 Somebody didnt like the boys here apparently!

  Now the seconds  live   too far apart to get  together..

She is very friendly with  a couple of second  boy cousins  whom I havent  written much because , well her mother  was the baby I was holding.  we dint have a lot in common,  escept  from the time Amanda  was 4 til  she graduated hs.  we met  that family at Myrtle Beach over Thanksgiving week..  So Amanda got very  cousinly with Chris and Tom..I dont have that many photos that I was able to find to put this together!  But Chris is now a   surgeon in Chicago, and Tom is a law student in Chicago.

6. Tell us something random about your week so far.
Well,   for one thing  I  tore through the photos to find  these  and  there are myriad others  tucked away, but  this is all I  could readily get my hands on.   Now I have to  have the fun of  trying to organize them back  into hole   in the cabinet from which they came.
' We are meeting friends tonight for dinner  for BBQ..   then going to Bible Study together..Hub's cousins  all getting together  for  dinner out this Saturday  so  it defintely is  cousins' week  for us!