Today is national Cousins Day.
I see many posts on social media about how “cousins are your first friends” or something to that effect. My father speaks glowingly about his days with his “first friends”. I see lots of folks posting pics of their kids with their cousins having a great time. If you were blessed this way, congrats to you!
I personally was not. Oh sure, I have second cousins and other extended family I’d see once in a while when I was a kid. But I was 11 when my first first cousin was born. I have six first cousins total, ranging in ages from 36 to 20- three of which are in the photo attached to this post along with myself, my sister and my niece and nephew. With the exception of the oldest, Mike, I wouldn’t say I have a typical cousin relationship with any of them simply due to the age gap. It’s more like having five more nieces/ nephews. Which is fine, just different.
So whether you were born into lots of cousins or got them later in life, today is a great day to tell them how much you appreciate them. And if you don’t have any cousins (like my niece and nephew), reach out to a friend who’s like family to you instead!