Yesterday I had a first-time visit with my mother’s cousin (which makes him my second cousin, yes?). He had come from Alaska, where he’s lived over three decades, to visit another relative in Berkeley regarding family genealogy. He’s a frequent visitor to and commenter on this blog, and we’ve been corresponding for a couple of years. So it was a joy to flesh out the relationship literally with in-person conversation over tea. We talked four hours: about family history, life, God, science, death and the possibility of existence after. You know, just a few light topics. He’s widely read and an information maven as I am. He also spoke encouragingly of my quest for a child. I can use all the positive interaction as possible around this. It’s rather nice to hear someone assert that my wish can come true.
On his way back from L.A., where he’s gone to visit another relative for the weekend, he’ll come for another visit Monday in the afternoon, and Husband and I will host dinner. Then he heads back to Alaska the 12th.
Someday I’d like to visit Alaska.
You never know where life will take you… At 23 I had no clue I’d be living in California (nor a desire to). I never imagined I might go to Europe (which I did) or visit a relative in Alaska. So I’m left to wonder what type of interesting and fun things I’ll be doing at 63 that just don’t occur to me now.
When you look back, are you surprised at the turns your path has taken? What are some things you’ve experienced or are part of your life now that you’d never in a million years have imagined for yourself?
First cousin once removed. His children would be your second cousins. General rule: when there are exactly N intervening generations between the two of you and a common relative, you’re Nth cousins. If, as in this case, there are N and M respective intervening generations between each of you and the common relative, where N
First cousin once removed. His children would be your second cousins. General rule: when there are exactly N intervening generations between the two of you and a common relative, you’re Nth cousins. If, as in this case, there are N and M respective intervening generations between each of you and the common relative, where N is greater than M, you’re Nth cousins M-N times removed. Thus, your future child would be his first cousin twice removed and would be third cousins to his grandchildren.
Dammit, it’s “N is less than M” Your code barfed on the algebraic symbol thinking it was the beginning of a tag, and I translated it improperly. Stupid technology.
My life has no end of taking turns that I did not expect. Married at 20, husband diagnosed with MS at 30, and after 10 yrs of home caregiving-he was placed in a nursing home at 40 ( last year). Along the way friends lost, but new ones found. Discovered all these sub-cultures of people I knew existed but hadn’t ever taken the time to understand. Caregivers and the chronically and terminnally ill, the disabled, forgotten young people in nursing homes. I am discovering what I really believe spiritually. I have ditched the superficial religious attitudes I grew up with. I am a single parent, but not really. I am married, but not really. None of this was the path I set out on. But that is what life is. You learn from everything you go through.
Someday I’d like to visit Alaska too 🙂
Am I ever! Have you ever heard the Bible verse along the lines of, “You will recieve more than you can ask or imagine”? I think it should be followed by, “Because you are going to get a boatload of stuff that will be so far outside of your ability to even conceive of it that if you even tried to imagine where you were going in life you’d probably die laughing.”
That sums up my life! Maybe a little more excessive than you were thinking?