By
Andrew DeMarco
Photo by: Vanassa Fata Kraut
About 10 years ago, I wrote a Rosy Glow for the Christmas Holidays about how the family grows and how it is both a good thing and yet in some ways a bad. It is a good thing in that the family is getting larger and that traditions will continue. The bad thing is that the relationships we might have had with cousins when we were younger are different as their priorities change with their own families. The link to that Glow is below:
This became quite apparent a few weekends back when the family got together for what was a very different kind of reunion. My Cousin Robert, who passed away in 2009, his daughters were coming in from Arizona to visit his sister, their Aunt Patricia, who thought it would be a good way to get the family together. Now you have to understand Robert was about 7 years older than I am and he moved from New York to Oklahoma and then to Arizona. During that time and as his family grew, I would see less and less of him let alone see his children. As a matter of fact, of his three daughters the only one I ever saw was his eldest daughter Vanessa, (sorry Vanessa), who was all of about 3 years old at the time. But as always, I digress. When I finally got to meet Vanessa, Gina and Emily, I was not really surprised that these beautiful women had the same warmth and personality as their father and were eager to learn about me and my wife as I was to learn about them, after all it was in their blood and we are family.
But in addition to meeting and spending time with Robert’s 3 children, that day provided me the additional bonus of catching up with my Cousin Pat’s children, Michael and his wife Jill, and Jessica and her husband Jason as well as their children. I also got to spend time with my Cousin Diana’s son Chris and his wife Nicole who is expecting which is further proof that the family continues to grow. (Good Luck Nicole and Chris.)
The day itself reminded me of the gatherings that we older cousins shared when we were younger. Plenty of good food and drink and a lot of love and appreciation for one another. The only thing missing were Cousins Robert, Laura and Louis but be assured that they were with us and always will be.
Finally, after meeting three great women and seeing the next generations, I realized that although the DNA strands may be a little frayed and the blood may be a bit thinner one thing was certain it is the same DNA and blood that is in each one of us who was there and that we are family and traditions will continue and new traditions will be established as the family will continue to grow and get stronger and better. This gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that…..Rosy Glow!
Bob's Rosy Glow 