We Are Family . . .

What a wonderful day! My cousins came by for lunch and to meet the Tumbleweed and Toad (and Cotye, of course). No longer was I the lone cuckoo clock in the library. It was like being in a clock shop, on the hour, and all of the cuckoos chiming at the same time.

Dave, Don, Vicki, Shirley, Sharon, Sharlene, Me, Cotye
(Camera man: Mark)

After sitting outside and chatting all afternoon, I could see my husband’s face as he discovered more and more similarities between my cousins and I. One of them being;  that all of us have cremated our previous pets and kept their ashes.  A certain cousin, no names mentioned here, (Sharlene), even has a frozen pet piranha in her freezer that passed away in 1974!  If a burglar ever checked her freezer for jewels, he’d get the surprise of a lifetime!

Us gals talked in circles, forgot details, talked over each other, corrected each other incorrectly, laughed at each other, then laughed some more . . . No doubt we all came from the same cookie dough. 

Dave and Don

Thank you to Dave and Don for joining us and sharing your share of interesting stories. Bees, bears . . . stuff that made more sense to Mark.

Vicki and Don
I should have had Vicki flex for this picture!

All of my cousins are amazing women. Vicki is the 'Sheriff' in town and has ‘guns’ that would put Arnold to shame. 

The Twins:  Sharon and Sharlene

Sharon and Sharlene are the twins, and they sound so much like the little chipmunks, Chip and Dale, when they get going, that it makes your heart sing to hear them. 

Me, Shirley
This is Shirley offering to help in the kitchen...less chips for me to carry out! lol
(Picture courtesy of Sharlene)

Then there is Shirley the Thespian, great sense of humor and, I found out today, was once a licensed pilot AND used to be a race car driver!

You always think you’ll have plenty of time for visits when you live fairly close to your family, so you let life get in the way. Don’t make that mistake. It is sad to think of all the fun we have missed not spending more time together when we had the chance.

Grateful for the time we did take for each other and super grateful for technology which will keep us connected no matter how far apart we are.

Vicki, IvahRae, Sharlene, Shirley
(Sharon had already skipped town, just look twice at Sharlene)

When Mark was walking Cotye tonight, he got attacked by a very large dog. The dog had no intent on hurting him or it could have taken his head off. It was obviously trying to put Cotye into submission. It merely slobbered on Cotye’s neck when it grabbed him, no punctures. Such an unfair situation for my baby who didn't even see it coming. I hate that he was in danger and probably terribly frightened.

This is a picture Sharlene took of Cotye earlier today. I need to go give him some big loves. Nighters! Thanks for being a part of our journey! And cousins, thank you all for a great day!!! xoxo