And other topics.
In 1977, my brother and I boarded a plane, sans parents, to the state of our birth and the one where all of our extended family still resided. We had cousins and there’s just something special about those kids who were like siblings, only better. No shade at all to my brother, who was and still remains one of my best friends. We were on our way to spend a week at our cousin’s cousin’s beach cottage in Connecticut in the heat of July.
We had a blast! I was 13, he was almost 12 and our cousins were 14 and 10. Our grandmother, aunt and uncle were also there. We met the cousins from the other side of the family and while I felt a twinge of jealousy, wanting my cousins all to myself, T and N were great fun. Both girls were close in age to us and we get into a shitload of mischief with them and our older cousin, S. I often wonder if my brother, the only boy among us, ever felt left out, but he seemed to enjoy our fun. T and I bonded for years over our mutual love of Shaun Cassidy. Anyway, it was awesome and when Facebook happened, we were all back in touch, much older with families and husbands and jobs, etc.
N is the youngest of her four siblings and has had some challenges in her life. I never thought I would see the day that she would leave Connecticut, but she has packed up her cat, her computer and a few other things, thrown everything else in storage, and has made a trek to Virginia after a few years of real unhappiness. I greatly admire this. I can’t say it enough. It takes real balls to make a change like that. I know because I did it and so did my brother. My husband has also made major life changes like that and I can’t say enough for doing it at least once in your life. You can stay “stuck” or you can make a change, for better or worse. As N says, “nothing changes if nothing changes.”
Last weekend we celebrated our parents both turning 80. Fortunately, the weather was amazing and everyone had a terrific time.
I am back at the gym again on a regular basis. I need to be as healthy as possible. I may not ever lose weight, but I want my bloodwork and heart to be healthy. I have heart disease in my family.
Working from home is still awesome. I hope to get out and about with my laptop more often.
aginggenxer 