Thought for a Thursday... cousinly love

I'm pretty close to my cousin Jod - in age and emotionally. We're only two weeks apart - I'm older, but as Jod like to point out, she was conceived before me. And she got to go home from hospital first. Oh, and walked first, too. She did a lot of things first.

When we were little, we spent a lot of time together - our families were close. But, as both sets of parents divorced - we went with the unrelated parent. She with her mother, and me with my father. Although we shared a set of grandparents (my mother's parents, and her father's parents), we didn't see each other for years.

Then, one day - completely out of the blue - I received a letter from her. In it was a ticket to the local ice-skating rink. She thought it would be useful for me, as she lived on the other side of the city. 

From that simple act - I don't know how brave it was to write and hope - we came back together. Every school holiday we spent time together, alternating houses. 

As she moved around, we kept in touch by letters.

Then, she moved back to Auckland. And, somehow, we stopped writing and didn't really start phoning. But, still, the closeness was there. Now there's email, facebook, blogs and text. And we just pick up where we left off.

And, this is the true meaning of closeness - no matter the distance, nor the differences in philosophies - we are together. 

I love you lots Jod!

with my big sisters in 1972

1974

1984

1987

 

1996



2001

2010