July 26, 2009

Cousins

Walking on water

When I look through old photos, I always find cute photos of Shaggy Hair Boy and Blonde Niece playing together. In fact, I have few pictures of Shaggy Hair Boy by himself. Always, Blonde Niece is in the picture with him.

Shaggy Hair Boy and Blonde Niece were born just a few weeks apart. Since Blonde Sister was Shaggy Hair Boy’s babysitter, they spent their childhood together. They’ve always seemed more like twins than cousins. At camp, they would spend hours playing together in an imaginary bakery up on the rocks. They’ve gone through high school together, sitting near each other in class and doing homework together on our couch. At the end of June, they graduated from high school – and shared the award given for Creative Writing.

Next month these cousins will be separated for the first time in their lives. Shaggy Hair Boy will be going to Snowstorm University, living on campus less than a mile away from Boy in Black and playing on the college Ultimate team with his brother. But Blonde Niece will be going off to college in City Where Colonists Threw Tea in the Harbor. She’s going to be to be 300 miles away. It’s going to be a big change for them both.

6 comments:

Liz Miller said...

That photo looks so eternal.

Anjali said...

How lucky they both are, to have this amazing relationship.

The Archduchess said...

I had a cousin like that, once.

Good luck to both of them. They look so happy!

kathy a. said...

what a great photo! and lovely story. cousins so close cannot possibly fall out of touch over a few hundred miles.

Sandy said...

AW ...

Sarah Sometimes said...

this picture, with its half-turned away faces, seems to presage your future, many years later, as a pseudonymous blogger!