Cousins... God's Way of Giving me Sisters While Allowing me to Remain an Only Child

Melissa, me, Julie, Hannah & Sarah

I am my mom & stepdad's only child... & believe me, I've ALWAYS enjoyed it! I've always kind of had the best of both worlds b/c when I was 2, my mom's older brother had his 1st girl. My cousin, Melissa, & I have been close our entire lives. When I was like 7 or 8, Melissa's little sister, Julie, came along. It was always so much fun to spend the night at my uncle's house on the weekends. Melissa & I would play together all night. Even when we were supposed to go to bed, we'd usually stay up & talk for a while afterwards. I stayed at my Nana's house quite often during Summer break & every so often, Melissa & Julie would stay w/ her as well. I would bring as much of my Barbie empire that I possibly could & Melissa & myself would play all day long. Since Julie was quite a bit younger, we'd be complete brats to her. I'd always bring one ugly Barbie for her to play with so that she'd kind of let us do our thing. We picked on her so much! It was pretty bad! Some days my Nana would take us all out to lunch & then we'd go get ice cream afterwards. With my Nana no longer here, those are some of my most cherished memories. Having cousins allowed me to have a sister-like relationship. I loved it b/c we'd play all day or all weekend but then when we were through, I got to go back to my house where I could be a spoiled rotten only child. Once I got into high school, b/c about the only things I had time for were school & pom, my cousins & I did grow apart. Again, it was kind of like w/ a lot of sisters... once you get into high school, the younger siblings aren't quite as "cool" to be seen hanging out with. After I got sick in 2001, my older cousin & I became close again. At the very beginning of 2005, we really started hanging out more. Now, Melissa & I are pretty much back to where we were when we were little. We both "get our hairrr did" by one of my friends & usually, we'll schedule out appointments for the same day. Afterwards, a sleepover always follows! We also started having our annual "Halloween Sleepover" where we rent a bunch of scary movies & eat a bunch of junk food. Because my mom & I are RIDICULOUS w/ our love for decorating during holidays, we spend the night at my house b/c not only is the front of our house decorated, my bedroom & the downstairs are also completely decked out. This past Christmas, we did a "Chrima Time" sleepover. It was seriously like being little girls all over. We both had on Christmas, sock monkey PJs & my parents drove us around to look at Christmas lights. My parents & I have been going to this place called Christmas City almost every year since I was 8 or 9. We took Melissa with us last year. SO MUCH FUN! It was awesome to have my parents drive us around while we snacked & listened to Christmas music. We even had our picture made w/ Santa (sock monkey PJs & all)! Julie is away at school in St. Louis, so she never comes to our sleepovers but unlike when we were little, Julie is ALWAYS welcomed!! Anytime there's a family gathering, the cousins usually try to go off where we can be alone & talk. We also have 2 more cousins but they're out in California. They came in town last June & it was a blast. We had a BBQ at my house & like we do when they're not around, all of the cousins went upstairs to get away from all of the "grown ups"... although, we did allow some of my uncles to be in the room with us. When they came to Memphis last June, it was actually the very 1st time I'd even met my baby cousin, Hannah. Her older sister, Sarah, had been to Memphis twice before when she was little & I'd actually visited her in California when she was a baby. I'm hoping that one of the next times I visit my dad in Southern California, I can fly up to San Francisco & spend a couple of days with them. Even though I'm now 29, I still do enjoy having Mom & Stu all to myself but it's also comforting to know that I have my 4 cousins. I don't really like to think about it too much but I do realize one day all of our parents will be gone & more than likely, the 5 of us will still be around. It's nice to know that I won't be alone when that does happen. To this day I think it's hilarious that Nana had NINE kids & out of those 9, only 3 had children. And all 5 of us are girls!! Sisters who I don't have to share with my parents!! Melissa & I are having a sleepover tomorrow night (well, it's 2 A.M. so technically, tonight) & I'm looking forward to this one just like I did the other million sleepovers we've had since we were little girls! =)





Melissa & me at Mom & Stu's wedding. I was 6, she was 4.





Melissa & me w/ Santa, Christmas 2010. I was 28 & she was 26.