September 8, 2019
Yesterday I joined a few of the cousins in having a yard sale. I didn't have a lot of items to sell, only enough for on one card table, but I set some glassware out and settled back to enjoy the day with family. I made a whopping big $35. Yea, me! We're already talking about doing it again next year.
Better than the money was the time spent simply being in the presence of people who have shared my life.
We held the yard sale on my uncle's carport, and we did that for a specific reason. Male cousins One and Two-ish had been tasked with getting a fresh coat of stain on the back deck. They worked while me and female cousins Three and Four-ish chatted. Then cousin Four-ish had to take Unks to a local cat rescue so he could bring home a new furry companion. It was family and it worked out splendidly. (I say cousin-ISH because they are spouses.)
There was talk about our dogs - we are a doggy family and we like it that way. (Unks is up in years so a puppy wasn't a feasible addition to his life.) We talked about cars a bit. We're all motorheads and we like it that way, too. And of course, we laughed about our times growing up together and what we wanted to do when we retired. Strangely enough, while I'm not the youngest, I'll be the last one to fully retire unless my plans change. It made me realize how successful we've all been in our lives and careers.
And why shouldn't we be? Every one of us sitting on the carport shooting the breeze has been employed somewhere since high school. Each of us found part-time jobs when we were sixteen and we just kept going up. I'm sure it's a combination of the way we were raised and our own internal drives. Each of us blood cousins is an "only child" while our spouses are not. Did that make a difference? We pondered these things.
It feels like I'm entering a new and exciting phase in my life. I have more time now, working a four-day week, to manage responsibilities and have hours and energy left to see more of my cousins. I can only hope I don't drive them crazy. I don't think I will. I think they're just as happy as I am that we still enjoy each other's company as much, if not more than we did fifty years ago. It just feels good.
KC Kendricks
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