Cousins ~ Photo Shoot

At the age of 24, I moved across the country 2,200 miles away from my family, to begin my first full time employment after college. The thing that I missed the most during that first year, was "shared history". No one knew anything about my life and words could not adequately fill in the blanks. Every relationship had to be built from the ground up, and some things can only be understand over a long period of time and shared history.

After I had been there awhile, a cousin came out to share my apt. and work in the same town where I lived. What an amazing thing it is, to sit across the table, after a period of time with no shared history, from someone who knew you from the time you were a child. They knew your aunts and uncles, your cousins, your school, and the places you used to hang out. No words needed, to know and be known, is fantastic.

Thanksgiving is an awesome time where family gather and another layer of shared history is built. This pair of cousins have a connection that is so evident and so wonderful, something that only time shared could have built.

The little boy's dad is in the lower right hand corner. When he was a little younger than this lad, I was a little younger than this lass, the little boys dad was the special young cousin that I used to play with. When I was a pre- teen, I loved to feed him in his high chair, or get him out of his crib after his nap. Like his son, he loved to laugh, and I would make any face or any sound necessary to get him to do it.

Watching this photo shoot...or I should say 'shooting' this photo shoot, was one of the most heart warming things I have seen in a very long time.

(My apologies to all those who left comments for this blip...your comments are on the 23rd because I uploaded the montage to the wrong date the first time!)