Cousins: We were quick to get into mischief as well as to stand strong as a tribe to defend each other. There is a bond between cousins that is different than other friends. It’s hard to describe if you don’t already know, but for us, we always knew you were just one call away.

Some of my fondest memories are with my cousins. My cousins taught me about snipe hunting. In the country that’s a real thing. Especially in the graveyard. They were also the ones to dare you to jump from the barn loft to the hay wagon that wasn’t close enough to be safe but encouraged you to run as hard as you could for gravity to carry you just enough to hit the hay (children do not try this). We got lucky and didn’t come away with any broken bones on this adventure, but could have. We also knew not to tell the parents.

We were clever, or so we thought. We went sledding on the other side of the tobacco barn just out of sight of the house. It was steeper, so we tied the barbed wire fence together so we could lie down and sled under it, going from the top of the hill to the bottom catching speed as we declined. If our parents had seen this, they would have killed us, but we had a trust bond that cousins share.

Then there is the big macho personality protecting us girl cousins telling the boys she’s my cousin, you can’t mess with her. Actually you can’t call, nor flirt nor date her. She’s off limits. Have I made myself clear? Intimidation worked until we caught on, then we’re like, oh ignore him or he doesn’t mean it, unless you act out.

As adults, life gets busy, but you know they will have your back. They will be there. Even when there are gaps in when you see each other, you just pick up where you left off because of that lifelong bond. Cousins are your tribe. I’m so blessed to have my cousins.