Karen, David, Kathy, Eileen, Lorna, Ron
My maternal cousins and I grew up together. We all lived
fairly close, so we saw a lot of each other. Aunt Muriel and Uncle Gordon
(David and Eileen’s parents) lived in El Sereno. Aunt Evie and Uncle Frank (Karen
and Kathy’s folks) lived in Monterey Park. We lived in Alhambra. We were within
five miles of each other.
We spent all of the major holidays together. Mom hosted
Easter, Aunt Muriel had Thanksgiving, Grandma had Christmas, and Aunt Evie and
Uncle Frank had New Year’s Eve. Known as “Hogmanay” in Scotland, New Year’s Eve
was a very big celebration. (My grandparents were both born and raised in that
country.)
David was the oldest. I was next and fourteen months
younger. Three years later, all the “littles” were born. My brother, Ron came
along in May, Eileen arrived in August, and the twins were born in December.
Aunt Evie and Uncle Frank put in a swimming pool, and we
spent a great deal of time during the summer at their house. Lots of happy memories
were made there!
We all knew each other’s neighbors because we played with
them. Many years later, a couple came to our church. I recognized her as the
little girl who had lived across the street from my cousins, Eileen and David. They
had a large family, and we had played at their house often.
I babysat for my aunt’s neighbors and knew them and their
kids very well. When I was in my twenties, I went to work for an income tax
preparer. I ended up working for my aunt Evie’s best friend. I had taken care
of her kids. She and I also became good friends over the next few years.
When I was in my early teens, Aunt Evie and Uncle Frank
moved north to San Mateo in the Bay Area for work. The first Thanksgiving
holiday after they moved, Eileen and I took the train to visit them. She
enjoyed playing with the twins, and I got to spend time with Aunt Evie.
We still got together fairly often. In high school, I dated one
of David’s friends, and he dated some of mine. We practiced dancing together to
all the latest music. He embarrassed me by screening my boyfriends!
After Aunt Evie and Uncle Frank moved away, Aunt Muriel and
Uncle Gordon hosted the Hogmanay party as well as Thanksgiving. Aunt Evie and
Uncle Frank sometimes came down for the holidays.
Eventually, I married, and David went into the Air Force.
Then he moved back to the East Coast where he married. We all loved his wife.
They later moved back to California where we got together with them once in a
while.
Life moved on, and we all became busy with our own families.
Larry and I visited Aunt Evie and Uncle Frank a couple of times a year. We saw
Karen and Kathy while we were there.
The last time we were all together was at our 50th
wedding anniversary party in 2015.
Karen, Kathy, Lorna, Ron, Eileen, David
Ron passed away five years later.
This past weekend we celebrated the life of Aunt Evie, who
died at 101 years old. She’d had a long and happy life, so we all wanted to be
there to celebrate her. The remaining cousins all came.
Kathy, David, Lorna, Eileen, Karen
I still love my cousins and am grateful for all the
wonderful memories we share.
