second cousins

I have lots of cousins on the Bredberg side of my family. 17 first cousins and now with marriage and kids, that world of cousins and cousins kids has multiplied quickly. On Saturday a lot of us were together for Nik's graduation open house and some of us ended up at the park for part of the party.

I stood back and watched my kids and my cousin's kids play together on all the playground equipment that I swear I was just playing on with the cousins that now had the kids. Somehow we are now the ones who stand in clumps and catch up while watching our kids. The passage of time is a very crazy and surreal thing. I felt it profoundly on Saturday.

And oh it was so good to be together. We don't all gather for Christmas like we did growing up, or meet at Grandma's farm for the 4th of July. Our own families have grown and that chapter seems to be over. But it just felt so right to be together. And it got us planning future gatherings, weeks at Bible Camp, wiener roasts and road trips to make sure we see each other a whole lot more.