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Monday, March 6, 2017

Cousins - #SOLSC Day 6


I love March, when during the Slice of Life Challenge, I commit to writing on a daily basis. It's fun during 31 days of posts to watch the ebb and flow of my writing. Some days I'll be incredibly pleased with how a post turned out; other days I'll just be glad I posted anything at all. A huge thanks to the gang at Two Writing Teachers for hosting, organizing, and commenting on this ginormous event each year. I appreciate the community of writers you encourage the entire month of March, and all the Tuesdays the rest of the year. Thank you, thank you.

**This March, I plan to connect as many posts as possible to my #OLW for the year - SAVOR.**

Wanda would have been so happy.

Wanda is my mom, and she died a little over two years ago. Family meant everything to her, and she worked hard at passing that love of family along to my brother and me.

Mom came from a family of eleven brothers and sisters. They didn't have many material things, but they always had each other. The eleven has now been whittled down to three - two sisters and one brother remain, but the memories of the love in our family will stay with us forever.

Childhood memories of family reunions -
  • hugs to say hi
  • huge softball games complete with uncles doing a great deal of trash talking
  • large garbage cans filled with ice and pop
  • homemade ice cream so cold it would surely give us each a brain freeze
  • tables and tables of delicious food
  • another round of hugs to say goodbye

Childhood memories of going visiting at cousins' houses -
  • hugs to say hi
  • hanging out in the haylofts
  • driving the tractors
  • helping my cousin with her sheep at the Logan County Fair
  • playing hide and seek in the different rooms at the motel my uncle and aunt owned
  • always food
  • another round of hugs to say goodbye

Adult memories -
  • our wedding where our family claims the first Wallace cousins' party began
  • future cousins' parties with dancing, laughter, favorite beverages, and tables of delicious food
  • boat rides on the lake
  • dinners gathered around each others' tables
  • grieving together for departed loved ones more times than we would like
  • the cousins' party reinstated this past summer at my brother's house
  • hugs to say hi and another round of hugs to say goodbye

This past Saturday night memories -
  • reached out to some cousins via text : We are free this Saturday. Is anyone free to meet us at the Mexican restaurant?
  • Yes. Yes. Yes.
  • the service was not great
  • the food was just okay
  • but many new stories were told and other stories were retold
  • there was lots of laughter
  • and even a few tears
  • and love, lots and lots of love, at the table
  • many more memories to savor and add to the bank
  • hugs to say hi and another round of hugs to say goodbye
Wanda would have been so happy.


Uncle Carroll*, Uncle Harold*, Uncle Albert*, Uncle Bill*, Uncle Roy
Aunt Florence, Aunt Martha*, Mom (Wanda)*, Aunt Bert, Aunt Mary Evelyn*
missing: Aunt Katherine*
(*gone, but most definitely not forgotten)


**Author's note: When I began writing today, I had one direction, and then this picture and my emotions took me somewhere else. Thanks for stopping here today to read my journey. 
In addition to savoring these family memories, I realized that my cousins are another writing territory for me; I've written about them before.  It's fun to read pieces I've written on the same topic, but approached in different ways.

8 comments:

  1. I love that you let the writing take you where it wanted to go. The memories and the stories? I love those even more.

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  2. You seem to have many writing territories to explore here - just write and seem where it takes you. It is my favorite way to go. My post yesterday literally wrote itself as I bawled and bawled. I could barely see the keyboard. Some slices just need to come out.
    Clare

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  3. There aren't as many in my mom's family, but the last of those, one uncle, based away last week. I understand about the cousins, Karen. Most all of mine and their wives or husbands are in Missouri. They get together monthly and I got to see them last summer, will again this coming one. I love all your lists and that picture is special!

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  4. How lucky for your mom to have had such a large family! My goodness - how many cousins do you have? As I was reading your post, I thought about the King Family and their annual Christmas shows. I am close to my cousins as well; I see one every week. Thankfully, our children are the same. My daughter was my niece's maid of honor - we call them "sister cousins!"

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  5. Great advice - let the writing take you there. Love all the hugs and stories!

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  6. Oh, I love this. I love the hugs to say hi and another round of hugs to say goodbye. I think there are a million slices tucked into this post.

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  7. You are so lucky to be surrounded by all this family!!! My family doesn't do anything like this and it makes me really sad!

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  8. I loved following a timeline of memories and reading you are still creating memories. Cherish those opportunities.

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