While I feel fortunate to have so many cousins on both sides of my family, I think it is the generation after me that becomes like a beanstalk. My parents' siblings all had kids and lots of them as we were the smallest nuclear family with only two kids. I love the photos!
I did my part to shrink the cousin pool. I remember reading Paul Ehrlich's warnings about the population explosion and the Boston Women's Health Collective's Our Bodies Ourselves in the 70s. That influenced me as did the many times my mom said to me when I was a kid: "just wait til you have kids." As though her vindication for being strict would come in the form of me torturing my future offspring. That didn't sound like the path I wanted to walk. I don't regret it but I guess I owe my niece and nephew a dozen cousins.
My husband's mother was an only child. With four boys of her own successfully married and becoming fathers, she was determined to make sure all her grandchildren knew each other well. Years of frequent family gatherings at her home insured that aunts, uncles and cousins became close friends. Now that my children's eight cousins are starting families, they are delighted to be aunts and uncles themselves!
THIS IS A COMMENT SOMEONE EMAILED TO ME. I TOOK OUT ANY IDENTIFIERS.
Naomi, I have cousins by the dozen ! 28 first cousins on my mom’s (my grandparent had 15 granddaughters and 15 grandsons which includes my brother and me0 ; of this number we have lost 2 women. and 3 men Twice a month I conduct a zoom with the remaining - females;we are close!
My Brother and I are the two youngest grandchildren on my dad’s side so we are close to the second-cousins, children of our first cousins. There were 25 of us and
now there are only 5 first cousins left - I am extremely close to both of the women and two second-cousin me,
On both sides of the family we have cousin reunions. We are scattered throughout the US, several gay couples and one second cousin married to an African naive, one concverted to Judaism
I have third , fourth cousin.s and some expecting fifth cousins. Dozens and dozens of cousins !!!
contrast, my children know a few of my cousins but they had only five first-cousins on my husband’s side; my only sibling didn’t have any kid. So my kids generation has not had the wonderful cousin experiences I’ve had and just now are becoming acquainted with adult cousins.
While I feel fortunate to have so many cousins on both sides of my family, I think it is the generation after me that becomes like a beanstalk. My parents' siblings all had kids and lots of them as we were the smallest nuclear family with only two kids. I love the photos!
Yes, I agree. I think it is the generations after us that will be more vertical. I had an only child and my only sibling has an only child.
I did my part to shrink the cousin pool. I remember reading Paul Ehrlich's warnings about the population explosion and the Boston Women's Health Collective's Our Bodies Ourselves in the 70s. That influenced me as did the many times my mom said to me when I was a kid: "just wait til you have kids." As though her vindication for being strict would come in the form of me torturing my future offspring. That didn't sound like the path I wanted to walk. I don't regret it but I guess I owe my niece and nephew a dozen cousins.
My husband's mother was an only child. With four boys of her own successfully married and becoming fathers, she was determined to make sure all her grandchildren knew each other well. Years of frequent family gatherings at her home insured that aunts, uncles and cousins became close friends. Now that my children's eight cousins are starting families, they are delighted to be aunts and uncles themselves!
@Sarah, Thank you for commenting. It’s hard for me to know if people have read my post, so I appreciate your comment.
THIS IS A COMMENT SOMEONE EMAILED TO ME. I TOOK OUT ANY IDENTIFIERS.
Naomi, I have cousins by the dozen ! 28 first cousins on my mom’s (my grandparent had 15 granddaughters and 15 grandsons which includes my brother and me0 ; of this number we have lost 2 women. and 3 men Twice a month I conduct a zoom with the remaining - females;we are close!
My Brother and I are the two youngest grandchildren on my dad’s side so we are close to the second-cousins, children of our first cousins. There were 25 of us and
now there are only 5 first cousins left - I am extremely close to both of the women and two second-cousin me,
On both sides of the family we have cousin reunions. We are scattered throughout the US, several gay couples and one second cousin married to an African naive, one concverted to Judaism
I have third , fourth cousin.s and some expecting fifth cousins. Dozens and dozens of cousins !!!
contrast, my children know a few of my cousins but they had only five first-cousins on my husband’s side; my only sibling didn’t have any kid. So my kids generation has not had the wonderful cousin experiences I’ve had and just now are becoming acquainted with adult cousins.
That’s wonderful!