Cousin Love

Just returned from Florida and got to see my cousin who I haven't seen in probably 8 years. It was so awesome to reconnect with my girlhood idol :)

When I was young I idolized my cousin Doo (real name Andrea with an emphasis on the first syllable). I thought she was the coolest, most beautiful teenager in the world. I was fascinated by both her and her sister La, but Doo was closer to me in age and so seemed more accessible. I mean I can't think of who rocked better 80's hair than those two and look at the sass! As Tyra would say, they were looking fierce.

I loved telling people I was related to Doo and wore our relative status like a trophy. Not only was she the manager at Express in the mall (do people still even go to malls?), but their house oozed cool. I remember a huge baby grand in the living room covered in family pictures, an inground pool in the back, a balance beam and dance barre in the basement, and George Michael's music blaring in the bedrooms. Strangely, one of my proudest moments as a teenager was looking enough like her that I was able to use her ID to gain underage access to the bars in downtown Youngstown (life goals, right!)

It is funny how that girlhood admiration extends into adulthood - something like your first crush - it never quite goes away. I actually got to spend some real quality time with my cousin this trip and engage in conversation that extended beyond my obsession with the Peretti boys lol. We spent time at my dad's chatting it up; she took me to my first Bikram Yoga session; I got to interact with her now teenage daughter and she got to spend time with mine.

I loved seeing our dads, hands raised, in some animated conversation out on the porch (I still wish I would have conducted my oral histories) and I loved getting to know my Aunt Sandy through an adult lens. You are really an amazing listener Aunt Sandy and obviously a fan favorite with the under 9 crowd!

As I get older, family ties seem all the more fragile making me want to defend and protect them more and more. Why is it we learn this stuff after so much time has been wasted? Once people move across the country? Once they die? I'm taking the lesson this time. Cousin club in the works fam! And Seth - thanks for getting married so we can all reconnect again sooner rather than later!