Cousins

This picture is the Sbaraglia clan in 1939. Grandmother Sbaraglia (Santa) is in the center of the front row. My mom is on the left of the front row, and my dad is just behind her in the back row. Most of the people in this picture are my cousins birthed by Aunt Daisy, my mom's oldest sibling.

As one gets older, one thinks back on his/her life and remembers the good things. I frankly don't remember the bad things. I remember blessings God gave me throughout my life. I remember my cousins. I had lots of them, as I've mentioned frequently. And I had lost contact with all of them until about 3 years ago.

When the Internet became popular I started searching for them. It only took me four years of searching real estate transfers, phone listings in the NJ, PA area, and then actually searching on their names.

It has been so nice for me to find these folks and spend time either on-line, on the phone, or personally visiting them. We all remember the same things, but we remember different things as well.

As time goes on, so you, my children and nieces and nephews, can get a picture of who is who, I will talk about the various families and which children came from which parent and how they are connected to my mom and dad -- your grandparents/great-grandparents.

I feel bad sometimes because my children aren't close to their cousins. Never have been. We (my immediate family -- husband and children) did not live physically close to either my siblings or my husband's siblings and so there was little contact with the families and thus little contact between my children and their children. My children really did miss a lot by not having that camaraderie. Oh, they spent some time with their cousins, but not like I did when I was growing up. Talk about extended families.

I have to say I had never thought about that terminology until recently and I realize that my aunts, uncles, and cousins were my extended family. We all lived in the same general area and I think because my mom's family all lived very close to each other when she was growing up and even after she married, that that extended family just kept on going. We took care of each other. We loved each other. We enjoyed each other's company. We laughed together. We cried together. We yelled at each other.

I treasure the times I had with those cousins of mine and am thankful that my mom and dad thought it was important for us all to visit with each other many times a year.

The list of my cousins would take a whole posting, and it would only confuse you all. So, as I get on with these memories, I will let you know just where each of my cousins fits into the family tree.