A Special Cousin

I had an e-mail from my cousin Betty Boyll (now Curtis) recently. She's another cousin I was able to hook up with through my aggressive Internet searches.

On the left is Betty about three years ago. She hasn't changed much over the years. On the right is her mom and dad -- Aunt Fran (my mother's sister) and Uncle Howard as they were in the early 80s.

Betty and I reconnected a few years ago, and each meeting has been special for me. We remember so many of the same things. She had her second child before I had my first, and somewhere in my boxes of pictures, there is a picture of her with Dawn (her daughter), and me with Phil (my son), or maybe she's holding her son (David). I can't remember, but I can visualize the picture in my mind. If I ever find it -- and I know it's scanned in somewhere -- I'll post it, but don't die holding your breath waiting for that to happen, okay?

Betty and I remember our moms' cooking -- they cooked alike. Guess they learned from the same person -- that would be my grandmother Santa Sbaraglia. And we talked about styles of our teenage years. Going to college. Getting married. Having children. The aches and pains of getting older. And each time we get together we pick up where we left off. She's such a neat lady. And she plays the piano at her church.

Betty is special because she is living on her own, and she seems to be enjoying her life as it is now. She recently purchased a condo -- it's really a nice place -- and she has it decorated beautifully.

I often wish we lived geographically closer so I could "drop in" from time to time. But I have to plan trips to visit her, and vice versa, and more often than not, something comes up that interferes with the "best laid plans".

She's in my mind, heart, and prayers often. Oh, yeah, did I mention she talks southern? She grew up in Tennessee -- that's where Aunt Fran and Uncle Howard had their mission. Such a sweet lady.