cousins

Their eyes light up the instant the door opens. Maybe a moment's hesitation of shyness for the youngest, but once they recognize who's here, the grins burst forth: cousins! In their bright eyes and squealing smiles I see flashes of family parties from my own childhood, noses pressed up against cold winter windows waiting for a pack of cousins to tumble into the house. Coats flung off, wet boots kicked into corners, and suddenly we're all running in a wild pack to the basement, weaving around adults and their ice-cubed drinks and their boring conversations. Off to the land of playroom sword fights and pool table battles and plotting elaborate make-believe and begging for a sleepover by the end of the night. What's more magical than cousins? Already I see the same spark of recognition in my children's eyes. Whether it's been a week or a year since they've seen their kin, they click almost instantly, in a different way than they connect with friends or other children. Perhaps they see … [Read more...] about the magic of cousins