Springing along, more or less
Spring has sprung so to speak but today was a frickin’ cold fugly day. I was in a sort of funk, oh nothing to write home about. The GG surprised me by making a faaar in the faaarplace in the late afternoon. That elevated my mood considerably.
I spent some time communicating with my youngest MacMu cousin (Doug) today (and for the last couple days). He is eight years younger than me. I was born three weeks after his sister Cathy, his one and only sibling. Cathy and I were great friends although I always felt a little less “social” than her. Alas she died a number of years ago. I have been getting to know her little brother in later years and love him very much.
Their mother, my aunt Charlotte, was The Commander’s (my mom’s) next younger sibling (3 and 4 out of 5) and they were bosom buddies. Charlotte was always lovely to me and when I got to be old enough to understand her humor, we had so much fun. She was the Radical Betty on my mom’s side of the fam. Although Radical Betty was *not* an opera singer.
Once when my cousin Doug was 12 or so, Charlotte sent him and a friend up to stay at the moominbeach on a bus from the Detroit area. The Old Cabin was empty at the time for reasons I can’t remember so the boys slept over there for the duration. Charlotte called at one time to make arrangements to drive up and pick them up. I answered the phone and we giggled about her bringing a black negligee up to stay with them in the Old Cabin. To embarrass them, of course.
The other thing that happened that summer was that Doug and his friend wanted to go to the island. Okay. The Commander was iffy about that and kept putting it off. Finally, there was a day when there was a huge nor’wester with big waves rolling in. My uncle Duke said, “Let ’em go to the island. They won’t get more than a few feet off the shore.”
That was true and me, Radical Betty, The Comm, and Duke ended up laughing our asses off looking out from Radical Betty’s house.
Cousin Doug and I are still (forever) eight years apart but we seem to connect in ways I may not have even connected with his older sister, the one that was my age. Even though we were friends and I loved her.
March 23rd, 2026 at 11:26 pm
Lovely memories! Our relationships certainly do change. I was closest to my now (crazy) cousins growing up although we went in very different directions as teenagers. I adored my dad’s younger brother Gordy but he died quite young (60s) and also liked my mom’s brother, who later became estranged from my family due to some Trust issues. (long story) Although I communicate sometimes with him now, we’re not close. So, it’s wonderful that you value the relationship with Doug and have great memories of his mother and sister.
March 24th, 2026 at 8:35 am
You mentioned “Trust issues,” as in Trust with a capital T, meaning (to me) wills and inheritance and such. I’m watching from the sidelines right now as my daughter and her husband are involved in what’s becoming a messy Trust issue. Way too complicated to explain but the result so far is what will be a permanent coldness among several people in my son-in-law’s family. The offending party has displayed some greedy and mean-spirited (and maybe ignorant) qualities that I personally will never forgive. I’m way on the outside of this, but my daughter, SIL, and granddaughter may eventually lose some $$ that rightfully would be theirs. It’s awful to watch this happen. And my SIL’s brother may end up in a house that’s way too big for his little family and a house he almost certainly can’t afford.