“Cousins by blood,
friends by choice.”
Darlene Shaw

As a child, “the cousins getting together” meant that my brother, sisters, and I were getting together with either our Kelly cousins from my Mom’s side of the family, there are six of them, or my cousin Dan, my only first-cousin on my Dad’s side. Whichever was the case, we always knew we were in for a good time.

As a parent, “the cousins getting together” meant that Kathy’s and my three boys were getting together with my sister Peggy’s three boys. Yes, six boys born over a period of eight years. When they got together, it was what one might describe as organized chaos. We never quite knew what to expect from them, except for the fact that they enjoyed being together. We quickly learned that just about anything can be repaired.

Now, as a grandparent, “the cousins getting together” has taken on a whole new meaning. Our sons’ generation has produced nine grandkids so far, five for Kathy and me, and four for Jim and Peggy. Today was an opportunity to get them (most of them, anyway) together for a picnic at Frontierland Park in Pacifica. The sun was shining, the temperature was comfortable, and the kids had a blast!

My sister, “Auntie Cathy,” the matriarch of the family, joined the fun and brought a delectable variety of cookies to share from Copenhagen Bakery in Burlingame. 

A warm Sunday afternoon at the park with three generations of the family… It doesn’t get much better than that.