Cousins

My cousin Jeff and his wife Lynn came for a lovely visit. Wifey and I always enjoy their company immensely, but somehow rarely get together. The last time we saw each other was a few years ago when we visited them at their beach front condo.

Well, I called Jeff last week, because his son in law is a newly minted cardiologist, and my friend Eric's group is looking for a young doc. It turns out that his SIL is happy where he is, with a group in Fort Lauderdale, but my call turned into an invitation, and they came for a visit.

Their daughter is a gastroenterologist, who just had her 2nd daughter. She works 12 hour days, with a nanny and Grandma Lynn, who spends each day with her granddaughters. Jeff and Lynn are ecstatic --these 2 little girls are the light of their lives.

We caught up, and reminisced. Wifey's parents were here, and kept pretty quiet. Ds 1 and 2 were home, and enjoyed getting to know their Dad's cousin. It was a great Sunday.

Alas -- we talked about family relations, and there was sadness. Jeff told me he last spoke to his sister Gloria in 1985. Nearly 25 years have passed with no contact! Their mother Lorraine (my Mom's sister) died in 1993, and Gloria didn't travel down for the funeral.

Fortunately, Jeff and LYnn talk to Gloria's son Isaac, who graduated Cornell and is living in Naples, Florida.

Jeff's brother, Michael, my other favorite cousin, has become religious, and those two families rarely speak, either.

Jeff asked me about my nephew, who is close in age to his daughter, and I had to tell him that he's shut us out of his life, too. I last spoke to him 1/3 of a year ago, and he last spoke to his parents last Summer.

"Wow," Jeff remarked,"he lives in South Florida, right?"

We agreed that the causes of this extended family disfunction are manifold, but their effects are still sad. Once the years pass, they're never recoverable.

Jeff is an optimist, though, like I am. We both savor the good. He was thrilled to hear that his aunt, my Mom, was still doing pretty well. Jeff's Dad, my uncle Abe, is 87, and still visits Jeff's maching shop daily. Last week, as they were moving a washing machine, Abe stepped in and grabbed the moving truck!

So, we agreed to stay in closer touch. Wifey remarked how much she enjoys their company. We have tentative plans for a Lincoln Road meeting this Summer.

Ah, family...