The Lasting Joys of Close Kin By Aileen Brazeau Co-Owner---San Clemente Villas by the Sea

The Lasting Joys of Close Kin

By Aileen Brazeau, Co-Owner, San Clemente Villas by the Sea

My gerontologist friend, Karen Everett Watson, says that familial relationships keep our minds sharp---and especially the minds of our older relatives. It is these familial memories that our elders remember best in their old age. So we should encourage contact with immediate and even distant family members. See what Karen sent to me just a few days ago.

It seems the older I get, the more I enjoy thinking about my childhood experiences. Growing up as an only child, the ultimate for me was spending time with my cousins. Since my mother had six brothers and five sisters, I had a multitude of cousins to enjoy.

For many years my mother's twin sister lived just a few miles from us and her daughter, my cousin Jeannie, was just two weeks younger than myself. She was pretty close to me having a sister and you know what sisters do? Yep, there were fights. As babies, we fought over everything. It usually involved a hairbrush. I haven't the slightest idea why we fought over hair brushes. Neither one of us had any hair at the time.

While fighting was a big part of our activities, we still preferred to play together. Jeannie was adventuresome. While I had trouble thinking of anything spontaneous, Jeannie had three or four ideas ready to go. At four she trimmed my bangs. She also trimmed her baby brother's hair. Last of all she trimmed her own. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. At five she decided to make her own sandwich. It involved climbing into the cabinets next to the stove. I was in the living room when she emerged triumphantly with her sandwich masterpiece held in one hand. Flames were going up the back of her dress all the way above her head. Her momma started chasing her and I tried to stay out of the way. She ended up rolled in the living room rug. Amazingly she was unharmed.

My summers were spent in the heart of Oklahoma. Both sets of grandparents lived there and it was the only vacation destination for all my childhood summers. My momma's mother lived in a little cement block house on the edge of town. It had two bedrooms and one bathroom. It was tiny by anyone's standards, but when summer came, it held over thirty of my relatives. All the cousins slept on the floor. Our pallets stretched from the front door to the kitchen door at the back of the house. Getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night involved careful placement of one's feet. Somehow we all survived and couldn't have been happier in a five star hotel. After all, there wasn't a chef alive that could compete with my granny's cooking!

I loved listening to my momma and her siblings talk about their years growing up. There was the time she finally convinced her twin sister to try the rope swing next to the creek. I think you can probably guess how that turned out. Then there was the story of the pet crow that liked shiny things, including matches. Those matches happened to be on top of granny's sewing machine, along with all the material for her girls' school dresses. The crow survived the neck wringing from granny. The material did not. Some of their stories almost hurt to listen to. My mother and her siblings never had a lunch to take with them, but Granny always had dinner waiting for them when they got off the bus.

Without my cousins, my aunts, my uncles and grannies, I would have been a very lonely child. They filled my life with fun, adventure, and memories I will never lose. They connected me to my roots. They taught me where I came from and more importantly who I was. As a teenager, my Aunt Glory made sure I could spend a portion of my summer lounging by her pool. Her daughter, my cousin Linda was grown by then. She'd take me wherever my heart desired. We window shopped on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. We visited Ports o' Call and Disneyland and nearly every beach in Southern California. She taught me the fun of macramé and I carried the purse she taught me to make for years to come. She continues to be a gift of life – a gift of family.

I so appreciate the connection with all these "close kin." They enriched my life beyond measure just by spending time with me. How long has it been since you called your brother, sister, or one of your cousins? Don't lose touch – they're treasure to cherish all through life. And ask your older loved ones about their close kin. It will lift both your hearts!

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How long has it been since YOU contacted, or even sent a greeting card, to your nearby and remote relatives? Give it a try and notice how you enrich your life and especially the lives of your more elder relatives.

San Clemente Villas provides full-service, luxury assisted living to those over the age of 65. San Clemente Villas by the Sea is at 660 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente, CA 92673. Phone: (949) 289-1534 | Fax: (949) 234-0081. Contact: Paul or Aileen Brazeau, Co-Owners of San Clemente Villas by the Sea. www.SanClementeVillas.com | abrazeau@cox.net.

News placement prepared by Bill Koelzer, Internet Marketing and PR Professional. www.Koelzer.com/longbio.html