National Cousins Day

​Tomorrow, July 24, is National Cousins Day. I fondly remember many times playing with my cousins growing up. Each of my parents has only one sibling, so I didn’t have that many cousins on either side—enough to keep track of and get to know and truly enjoy relationships with (in spite ​​of the fact that I terrorized my older boy cousins trying to get more of their attention).

With our annual trips to Minnesota every summer to see Jason’s side of the family, my kids got to see their out-of-state cousins once a year—one concentrated week where they got to be with, play with, vacation with, their Gillard cousins.
 
When the kids were nine, we went “gravel pit” sledding. Uncle Grant always had fun ideas that challenged our dull, safe living. At the family farm, we have a gravel pit with tall hills of dirt and small rocks piled up from when the pit was in use. With plastic toboggans from a nearby hardware store, the kids (and Uncle Grant—demonstrating of course) were soon all zooming down the slopes like it was Christmas after a Minnesota snow storm. A great adventure for cousins to share! Happy Cousins Day tomorrow. Let your cousins know you’re thinking of them.