Friday Writings #245: Family

 

 

Hello again, dear Word Weavers –

and apologies for my total absence last week. I was very pleasantly otherwise occupied by an exciting, in-person reunion with several long-lost cousins, whom I hadn’t seen since they were kids and I in my mid-thirties – and then only once, as they lived far away from me. When my mum and their grandmother, who were first cousins, finally died, the communication channel between us was gone and we lost touch – until another cousin, from a different but closely connected branch of the family, found me on facebook ... and then one of the others found her on Ancestry …

Their late father was my first cousin once removed (cousinly relationships are quite complex!). I was very fond of him – he was a bit like an older brother to me for a while – so I was thrilled to learn that he always spoke of me affectionately too. I was quite famous to his children, they tell me! Here’s a photo of him and me dancing together. I can’t recall what the occasion was, but I must have been about 16. He was seven years older than me, and his name was Leo.

 

 

Everyone came here from various parts of Australia (Sydney, Newcastle, Ipswich) so we could spend the weekend together. One also brought his wife, another her young daughter. (There was even a small, polite dog in the party.) My son, who is of their generation and also only met them that once, came too, from Melbourne. One cousin in Melbourne and another in Adelaide couldn’t make it this trip, but are keen to come and visit me in the near future.

At the weekend we all had a great time looking though old family photos, including albums I inherited from my mother, putting names to faces which some of us had been uncertain of identifying, and swapping stories and reminiscences. My son was fascinated too. The plan is to keep in touch by family gatherings on Zoom henceforth – and also with some more distant (in both senses) cousins overseas, with whom Ancestry has reunited us, who can fill in other parts of the extensive family history.

After all that, my (optional) prompt for you this week is, unsurprisingly, Family – whatever that word inspires in you.

Guidelines: Poetry or prose, old or new, on prompt or not, 369 words maximum (excluding title and notes), post to your blog, add your link to that blog post below, and please read and comment on what others share. (Also you may talk to us and each other in the comment box below.)

In this part of the world, Spring is here! Regardless of climate change and other horrors, it still brings with it some lightness of heart and lifting of the spirit. 

Next week, you’ll be asked to include in your writing one, some or all of the following light-hearted words: fol-de-lol, frippery, tender, delight, singing, sweet, new. 

Happy writing, everyone!