Family

My mother was the oldest of 4 kids, and the only girl,  until, in her teens, she became the oldest of 6 kids.

Suddenly,  out of no where she had a sister.  And because her parents didn't want baby #5 to be lonely, they decided to have another, and sister #2 was born.

This created a pretty fun family dynamic.  I have Aunts who are not that much older than me, who then gave me cousins, who are a lot younger than me.

We have first cousins who are super close to their second cousins because they are all around the same age.

And my young cousins sometimes get confused and think of me and my sisters as their aunts, which I like just fine.

Oklahoma is where all of my mother's family lives - including all the little cousins.  It is a place synonyms with my childhood, and as I have said before, even after traveling the world, it is one of my favorite places in the world.

The people who know my life history live there.

So I was thrilled when my mom called to say that our baby cousin Bailey (not a baby any more) was engaged, and had set a wedding date for this summer.

Not that I needed an excuse to get to Oklahoma - but sometimes life gets so busy we forget to do the things that make us happiest.