1, 2, 3... 11?
People keep reproducing at an astounding pace. Two of my cousins had their babies over the past couple of weeks, bringing the total of cousins once removed? cousins twice removed? nieces and nephews? to about eleven I think.
And of course I'm happy for them. It's just weird because when I was a child everybody kept saying that the age gap between me and all my cousins would get smaller, or rather less noticeable with time. Only the opposite is true. Yes, when I was a child they were all teenagers and some in their twenties, but we still had more in common than we do now; they played with me, I listened to their stories, we had fun. Now they're all serious and having families and raising kids and what not.
So all the things going on in my life, like getting into uni, writing good exams, being involved in the paper, they are seen as almost insignificant. What's that compared to giving birth to a baby, right? And it's a bit unfair, because when my cousins did all these things (or didn't do them in some cases), they were big and important, but now they just don't matter anymore.
They do for me, of course, but my grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins... just not. I've always been a bit on the ousider with that whole bit of the family (what with my father leaving my mother when she was pregnant and all), but it's not just that. Age really matters. I'm 22. My cousins are in their thirties, early fourties. It's just different. And that doesn't change.
I'm not upset about it, don't get me wrong. It's just one of these things you notice and that makes you think.
And of course I'm happy for them. It's just weird because when I was a child everybody kept saying that the age gap between me and all my cousins would get smaller, or rather less noticeable with time. Only the opposite is true. Yes, when I was a child they were all teenagers and some in their twenties, but we still had more in common than we do now; they played with me, I listened to their stories, we had fun. Now they're all serious and having families and raising kids and what not.
So all the things going on in my life, like getting into uni, writing good exams, being involved in the paper, they are seen as almost insignificant. What's that compared to giving birth to a baby, right? And it's a bit unfair, because when my cousins did all these things (or didn't do them in some cases), they were big and important, but now they just don't matter anymore.
They do for me, of course, but my grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins... just not. I've always been a bit on the ousider with that whole bit of the family (what with my father leaving my mother when she was pregnant and all), but it's not just that. Age really matters. I'm 22. My cousins are in their thirties, early fourties. It's just different. And that doesn't change.
I'm not upset about it, don't get me wrong. It's just one of these things you notice and that makes you think.